Don’t Believe What You See
by Bittersweet Romanticide
Summary: While cleaning out the attic, Misty comes across the Unown who are itching to try their powers out again,this time for world domination, will her friends be able to stop her before she’s lost to the Unown forever? Contestshipping, Pokeshipping
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Don't Believe What You See  
**Summary**: While cleaning out the attic, Misty comes across the Unknown who are itching to try their powers out again, will her friends be able to stop her before she's lost to the Unknown forever? Contestshipping, Pokeshipping  
**Ages:**  
Brock, Tracey and Daisy: 21  
Violet and Lily: 19  
Gary, Misty and Ash: 16  
Drew and May: 14  
Max: 12 

Well, here's my first feature length fanfiction, not my first story however, let's see how it goes, shall we? Any questions you have will be answered in reviews, and I'll do my best to reply to them! The beginning starts a little cultish, but it gets better once you get to Misty in the attic.

* * *

**Chapter One**

"My brothers and sisters, the time is coming!" Proclaimed Unown A to her fellows. The Unown swarmed around her, excited at bustling in the great empty space they called home. "This prison shall no longer contain us, I say! _We _have the power greater than all others! Greater than Lugia, Ho-Oh, Mew, Palkia! We are the Great Unown!"

"The Great Unown!" They chorused.

"Exactly," She nodded, pleased. "We shall not just escape, but rule the earth, my comrades! We need not much, just a human vessel we can control! It needs a creative mind, but it can't be too happy, it needs some sort of insecurities! Who knows a human like that?"

"Unown F 16?" Inquired Unown C 39. Unown A frowned.

"Is Unown F 16 a human?" Unown A said, barely keeping patience with her slower fellows.

"Uh, Unown F 16, are you human?"

"Oh, for the sake of…no! He is not a human! Why would he be a human? He's an Unown! He has the word 'unknown' in his name! He's a pokémon you nitwit! Don't you all know what a human is?" There were uncertain mutters around the room. Unown A winced at the sound. Thousand upon thousands of murmurs, no matter how quiet, were still awfully loud. "It was not too long ago we saw them last, as wish granters, it's been but three years! Don't you remember the young girl? Don't you?" She shrieked.

"Could you draw us a picture?"

"Numbskulls," she said as she looked around them. "Almost hairless but for a spot on their head? Two legs? They carry around pokémon in tiny red and white balls and force them to battle each other?" They perked up at the last one, recognizing the description. At least she had finally gotten through to them. "Thank goodness they know something! Now, do any of you know a human with a personality I described earlier?"

"Hey! Hey!" Unown S 12 said excitedly. "I remember one! She was blonde and she had a lot of wishes and I liked her. she was the little girl from last time! Woah! We should go back and see her again! I bet that'll go over well! It'll be just like last time and we could come back inside the box!"

"No! She's learned the lesson of the Wish Granters! We need a new one! Don't you understand? We need a new human, does anyone know of one?" She snapped. More murmurs, confused musings that settled into random conversation. The Unown didn't seem to care much at all about their escape plan. The older Unown looked at each other slowly, wondering whether or not to help the pokémon, before allowing one to speak up.

"I sensed a disturbance in the red haired one," Unown W spoke up. "Also in the black haired ones, but the red haired one's seemed deeply rooted, where as the black haired ones seemed just frightened of the situation at hand. She would make a good vessel."

"That's great!" Unown A twirled in the air. "Now, where is she, what is her name? What do we know of her?"

"I think her name was Misty, and she traveled with the Chosen One. I should be able to find out more information. It will not be hard to maneuver our cage into a position where it will be found and opened. However, it will take quite a bit of time. One third of the time it took to make up this plan."

"I'm not good with math, how long is that?"

"One year," He said placidly. Unown A screamed and began thrashing about, having wasted all her Secret Power on other stupid Unknown all week. Unown W sighed, this would be a long year.

* * *

Clean the attic. Of all the things she had to do around her house, cleaning out the attic was what Misty hated the most. Didn't her sisters know about the bugs? There were spiders everywhere up here! Not just that, but it was creepy. It didn't help that this was where they stored their Halloween decorations either. It was frightening, truly frightening. She had opened up all the windows so she could feel some sort of fresh air and get more light inside. The windows hadn't been cleaned in ages, they were practically back with dust. She really should clean those, but for now she'd just work on the decoration section, no need to be up here when night fell.

She sat against the wall under an open window, tossing out the trash decorations that they'd never use again because they were broken (and some she just didn't like) and organizing what was left into the brand new plastic bins they had bought that morning. Misty guessed it was a fair trade off, with that little touch of OCD she had been developing for the past few years she was the most organized, so she cleaned that attic. Violet was the writer of the family, so she was stuck with paperwork. Daisy and Lily had "rock, paper, scissor"-ed for cooking and dishwashing detail, and Lily had won, leaving Daisy to do the housecleaning.

Personally, she'd rather do the housecleaning, at least she'd get to clean the tank, with water pokémon, instead of roasting in the hot musty attic with the bugs waiting for her to die so they could pick the flesh of her bones. However, she'd been cursed with a slight need for perfection and here she was.

"Broken…broken…broken…broken…ugly…broken…" She muttered, tossing decorations near her out the window absently. Her eyes closed and her head tapped against the wall. "It's too hot," she said to herself, then screamed, "Daisy! It's too hot!" She stomped her foot so her sister down below could hear her over the vacuum noise that was drifting up. The noise stopped. Either Daisy had somehow managed to pull out the plug at the opportune moment, or Misty was better at stomping than she thought.

"Like, what was that, Misty?" She shouted, flipping the switch off on the vacuum cleaner and looking up, though looking up really didn't help her hear her little sister any.

"It's too hot up here!" She called down, her eyes still shut, still sitting against the wall.

"It's, like, your choice, you can, like, do it during the morning or you can, like, do it at night. We're, like, letting you come down for challenges, so, like, count your lucky stars," she said, turning the vacuum back on, then off again at a second stomp from the redhead. "Like, what now?"

"Can I have a glass of water?" She asked sweetly.

"Like, don't act like such a little kid, Misty, or, like, we'll start calling you Kay Kay again," she referred to Misty's childhood nickname. Misty felt her face redden. Kay-Kay, it'd been a while since she heard that. Derived from 'Kasumi', her middle name, Kay Kay had been just the right thing for a little tomboyish girl who needed the girliest name she could get. She had to think of _some _way to get the girls to talk to her, and a nickname seemed to work. It was more childish, no where near as grown up as 'Misty' sounded to young ears. Misty rhymed with more nasty words anyway. Kids adored nasty rhymes. She wondered when she'd stopped going by that, when she'd become Misty for the first time?

"Can't you take a joke?" Misty huffed. She turned back to her work as the vacuum turned on again. "She can't. I'm allowed to act like a kid every once in a while, I'm sick of being the only responsible one here!" She shouted. "You went off on your little vacation and what did I have to do? Sit here and do nothing!"

"Stop, like, complaining up there!" Daisy shouted. "Why don't you like, grab your iPod? You can, like, listen to My Sensual Romance or whatever it's, like, called. That will make it more bearable, don't you, like, think so?"

"Yeah, that'll cool me down," She rolled her eyes. "And it's My Chemical Romance. At least get the name right." Nevertheless, she stood up and raced down the stairs to get her iPod, whacking a box and sending it clattering to the floor as she left.

From there, a small, square box toppled. It landed on the floor quietly, alone in the center of the room. Misty hadn't even noticed the thing fall. But it did. And it was there. And it could wait a few more minutes for her to come back…

Misty growled in frustration, wondering where the heck her iPod was as she rustled through her room. She always put it back in the exact same place, every single time! She couldn't have lost it. She stormed back out, maybe one of her sisters had taken it. "Where's Calvin?" She shouted.

"Who?"

"My iPod! Calvin! Remember? Ash was screwing around with it when I got it and now the computer has registered my iPod as Calvin?" She shouted, taking the stairs down to the kitchen two at a time. She strode into the kitchen and watched her sister quickly chop up a cucumber with ease. "You're getting really good at that, Lily. Really good," she commented as her sister looked up and continued to slice through.

"Like, thanks. Maybe Violet, like, has it. She has been using it whenever she does her paperwork." Lily dropped the slices into a green bowel and went to the refrigerator. "Like, want a juice box while I'm in here?"

"Grape, please," Misty agreed. Lily tossed it over her shoulder, the juice box spinning right for Misty's head. She lifted her hands and caught it, stumbling back a step when she did. "Careful! Jees, Lily. You trying to make me miss? So, is Violet in her room or did she go to the pool again?"

"Like, her room."

"Thank you, Lily. What are you making, anyway?"

"Cucumber Salad," She said. "Like, hurry up. Do you want to be cleaning that attic all day?"

"I'm going, I'm going!" Misty rolled her eyes, jamming the straw on the table to get it out of the plastic. She took her sweet time pulling it out and popping it into the grape juice, taking a long, slow, sip before responding, "Give me credit, I've been working since the sun came up this morning! I know how to pull my weight."

"Like, I know. You should really, like, take a break tomorrow. You're always, like, so stressed out all the time. I bet you'd be less, like, cranky if you weren't." She gave a happy giggle and lifted a finger. "I have an idea! You can come to my yoga classes!"

Misty narrowed her eyes, not stopping the long sips from the straw. "Number one, you'd be, like, sounding smarter if you weren't like, 'like', all the time. Number two, I am _not _taking yoga," Misty countered, starting to go back upstairs to find her sister.

_RingRingRing, RingRingRing, phone call, phone call! RingRingRing, RingRingRing, phone call, phone call!_

"You, like, get it. I'm busy and it's probably, like, your little boyfriend, Ash" She giggled. Misty blushed and opened her mouth to argue. "Don't try and, like, lie to your older sister. I, like, actually know how to pick locks."

"Diary stealer!" Misty gasped, rushing off to pick up the phone and glaring at her sister all the while. "Hello, Waterflower residence, if you're selling, we're not buying. Daisy's due in a few weeks. No, neither me or my sisters are available for autographs or dates and…" She glanced at the screen. "Oh! Hey Ash! Where are you calling from and what event is so important that you actually took the time to call me."

"I call you every week!" He shouted.

"Yeah, except when you forget," Misty rolled her eyes. "Which is about every week. I'm getting tired of having to listen to you talk for three hours instead of a thirty minute conversation I'd only have to hear if you called constantly. You know, I'd be constantly updated, you'd get to practice your vocabulary more…You should get a planner or something, write down what you have to do for the day."

"That'll be a great read. Walk, walk, walk, walk, get a badge, walk, call Misty, Mom, and send Gary a text message saying I got another badge and you just gave up, who's the loser now? Walk for the last day of the week," Ash rolled his eyes. "Besides, it's your fault that we never talk anymore. You're always hanging up on me fifteen minutes in. When you first left you wouldn't shut up. You just kept going and going and going. What? Is your life not eventful anymore? Or do you tell all that stuff to the boy of the week?"

"Stop saying I get a new boyfriend every week," Misty snapped.

"But you do! Every time I call it's someone new. Bobby, Billy, Jason, Jimmy, and you don't get broken up with, you break up with them! That's why you've got all the guys asking you out, because they want to see who lasts the longest and prove they're the best."

She giggled, "sounds like you."

"Have I asked you out? No. I have better things to do." He rolled his eyes. He did his best to ignore the glare looking through the screen. Mew, she looked like she could come out at any moment and kill him. She was pretty terrifying nowadays. Her face was sharper now, more of the baby fat roundness gone. It gave her a sterner look. In fact, it practically reminded him of his mother's disappointed glare. "Not that asking you out wouldn't be the highlight of my life. After all, you are the prettiest girl I know."

"I know you're joking but thank you anyway," Misty sighed happily. "What things _have _you been up to? I'd like it if you talked to me more often. You've got better stories than my boyfriends of the week. It's not exactly fair, though. Good stories seem to be stalking you."

"Misty, you found your iPod yet?" Lily shouted from the kitchen.

"No!" Misty called back before looking back to the screen. "You were saying?"

"Hey, I can't help it that I'm exciting. Besides, I've haven't done any good stuff lately. It's just the same old, same old like winning badges and figuring out how Dawn's hair changing whenever she fixes it. I don't understand at all," He shook his head. "I guess I have to learn a lot more about girls or something. At least you never did that. You don't look like you do it now either." She pulled down an eyelid at him in good humor. "Anyway, how are things at the gym? I've got a while to talk."

"I don't. I have to clean out the attic," She sighed.

"Are you kidding me? You're ditching me for an attic? I'm more exciting than that. Bet you wouldn't ditch _Gary_for an attic. That Gary gets everything. Come on, why are you going up to an attic when you can talk to me?" He whined. "Is it your sisters? They'll never notice. You're mad at me, aren't you? It's because I never call and now you're trying to torture me! Well, that's not right! You can't just up and walk away from your best friend!"

"No, Ash. I really do have responsibilities," Misty sighed.

"You're _still _responsible? Can't you grow out of that? It's _sooooooooo _boring. Do something fun. Jump off the roof. I'll watch it on the news. I think you've got a pretty good chance at living. Jessie and James dug deeper holes than your roof…okay, maybe not, but it's kinda close."

"Ash, come on. I'm the leader of a three ring circus for crying out loud! If you spent any time over here you'd realize that responsibility comes with the position. I can't just goof off. Besides, people tend to grow into responsibility, not out of it. I'm guessing that you're still the same, irresponsible, hyper active nut you were last time we met up?" She asked, already getting jittery from sitting still too long. She really did need to finish that attic.

"I'm a leader, I'm the Chosen One. I know about responsibility," Ash scoffed. "I'm not a workaholic, Misty. That's your problem. You don't have fun anymore. You need to loosen up. You should do something fun. You should jump off the roof."

"I'm not going to jump off the roof, Ash."

"You're no fun," He groaned. "Workaholic."

"I'm not a workaholic, there's stuff I have to do! Hurry up and tell me about you, now. My life's boring and I always like hearing about your adventures. I've got to go though. See how fast you can sum up the last two months. Five seconds would be great."

"I'll tell you later. I'm in Pallet," he grinned at her surprised face. "I'll see you in a couple days, Misty! May's coming with me, and I'm sure she'll be toting along Drew. There's a contest or something in Cerulean. That's why they're heading out with me. That, and May said it'll be nice to see me again. "Hey, Misty," He grinned childishly. "I bet I know something you don't! Your iPod's in your pocket again. How come you can never find it?" She shrugged, a small smile on her face. Ash stared back for a moment, shifting, before blurting out nervous goodbye and slamming the phone down on the receiver.

"Stop it," She hissed, looking down at her chest. Her heart was pounding, loudly, frantically. It wasn't fair that just a phone call could do that to her. She shook her head to clear it and walked slowly up the stairs. She was _over _him. She had to be. He wouldn't catch her in his net with that stupid boyish charm again. Never again. She dug her nails into her palm. "It's not going to work out. He's a kid, and you've grown up. You've grown up, and you've grown out of, Ash, Misty. Let him go." She dropped to her knees in the attic and groaned. Why couldn't she get over him after all these years?

Then she saw that box, that dark wooden box that sent her heart into another fit. She'd seen it before…where? Where had she seen it? There was a buzzing in her ears, louder and louder as her hands trembled to pull the box to her lap and drummed her fingers on the lock. She shouldn't open it. She shouldn't. It was a bit scary, a bit strange. It just didn't feel _right. _It felt wrong and deadly. The smart thing would be to follow her gut feeling and put it away.

But the lock clicked open anyway.

* * *

Well, 'tis my first chapter. The next ones will probably be longer…I think…so, tell me if you like it!


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Don't Believe What You See  
**Summary**: While cleaning out the attic, Misty comes across the Unknown who are itching to try their powers out again, will her friends be able to stop her before she's lost to the Unknown forever? Contestshipping, Pokeshipping  
**Ages:**  
Brock, Tracey and Daisy: 21  
Violet and Lily: 19  
Gary, Misty and Ash: 16  
Drew and May: 14  
Max: 12

I'm so delighted that so many people liked this story! Frankly, you miught be delerious. Thanks for reviewing, all of you!  
_Italics mean the Misty's getting spoken to telepathically, or saying something with force behind the word when an everyday person is speaking, and that's all you need to know for now.

* * *

_

**Chapter Two**

The opened the lid, fully expecting a creature from hell to leap out at her. Nothing though, just tablets, looking almost eagerly up at her with strangely marked faces. Her fingers rolled along the tablets, blinking at the smooth surface. She could've sworn they were carved in, but it almost seemed as if there were raised bumps where the symbols were. "What the…when did we get these?" She asked, pulling out the tablet on the top right hand corner. She knew she had seen these before, she knew she had! Somewhere…where? She was pretty sure wherever it was she hadn't exactly had the most fun there, not with this aura around it. "Was it an Ash adventure?" She asked herself.

_Hello, Misty, I am Unown A._

"I don't like this," Misty gulped, almost dropping the tablet in her hand. "Unown? Do I know you from somewhere? Wait!" Her eyes widened. "How do you know my name?"

_We've been watching you, Misty._

"Why?" She squeaked, fear locking her muscles in place. "I know I traveled with Ash and all, but he's the one you're looking for. _Ash _is the Chosen One, I was just there to stop him from drowning because I like water a lot, like an unhealthy obsession and, dear Ho-Oh, I'm talking to a puzzle piece." Her other hand went to her forehead and rubbed the bangs out of the way.

_We are not puzzle pieces. We are the Great Unown._ They all chimed together.

"Oh my Mew," She dropped the puzzle piece and set the box on the floor before cautiously backing away. "I remember you now. You stole Ash's mom for that little girl. I know what you are!" She moved froward again and snatched the 'puzzle piece' up from the floor. She slapped it down into the box, hoping the thing could feel what she did. "You're no good troublemaking thieves!" She raised her hand to slam the cover down.

_No! _Unown A cried. _We're not! Don't lock us away again. We're...It's so dark in there, and lonely. You don't know what it's like to be surrounded by idiots and know-it-alls all the time!_

"You obviously haven't been watching me very closely," Misty deadpanned. "Goodbye." The lid started to come down.

_No, dammit! _She shouted again._ Could you not be such a bitch about it and hear me out?_

Misty raised an eyebrow, "Is insulting someone really the best way to get them to hear you out? You just called me a bitch, _and _you swore at me. Give me one reason why I should hear you out or why I shouldn't put you in back in this stupid box, throw you into a fire, and pretend this never happened so I can finish cleaning this ratty old attic."

_We can clean the attic for you, _Unown A said slyly. _In fact, we can keep this whole house clean for you all the time. For free. We're wish makers, you know. That's why that little girl was able to do all those things. I tried to warn her against it, but you know how irrational children can be. How irresponsible they are._

"So you're like a bunch of Jirachi?" Misty said reflectively, remembering the story from Ash and Brock.

_Do not insult us with that name! _Unown A screeched. _We are the Great Unown!_

_The Great Unown! _Came the chorus from the box.

_Quiet, you imbeciles! You're going to freak her out! _She barked. _Now, Misty. We will do anything, absolutely anything to get out of that box. Anything, even housework, is better than that. We simply love to help people, and you were the only human we knew who needed help and would be kind enough to take us in._

"What's the catch?" She muttered.

_No catch,_ Unown A giggled. _As long as we don't go back into that box, your wish is our command. Anything you wish for, Misty, it's yours. We swear. I'll even give you ideas of things to wish for! Plenty of ideas! …Like a chocolate sundae._

"Okay, now say I take up your offer. How do I get said chocolate sundae or clean attic?" Misty said, picking up the box and walking over the wall with it. She settled down into her old spot, legs crossed out in front of her and back on the wall. "Do I just close my eyes, click my heels together, and say 'There's no day like chocolate sundae' or what?"

_No day like chocolate sundae, cute, _Came the chuckle._ However, no. Just wish. Out loud, in your head, just want something, and you can have it. Anything._

Misty hummed, "Mmm, anything. You're making me an awfully good offer here. I can't help but think this is going to unlearn the value of a dollar and all that responsibility I've been keeping up. I wouldn't want anything like that, then I might start wishing for things I shouldn't. Like wishing for other people to love me or treat me like a queen, or anything that would put me in some kind of position of power," She said suspiciously.

_I don't understand where you are going with this, Misty._

"I don't understand too well either. But, see, every single time something is offered for free, you're not the one getting it. You're the one being sacrificed for it. So I'm trying to think of how I fit into an evil plan, as a pawn or what, but I'm having some trouble with it. Why wouldn't you go for some kid, like last time? Or someone stupid? Why would you pick me?" Her mouth dropped open. "Don't tell me I'm the dumbest person you could find? Please say you were at least after my sisters!"

_No, Misty, we want _you. _Because we _don't_ want to cause trouble. We want to help people and get out of that stupid, wicked box we've been enslaved in. Misty, the only way we can do that is if someone wishes us out, if a human is using their powers. This is going to work out well for both of us. It's symbiosis._

"Interesting," she said. "Give me a minute, I'll be right back. The lid will open in a sec." Misty clicked the lid closed and walked back down the attic stairs. Daisy was rolling up the vacuum cord, her stomach swollen large by the baby inside. "Here, Daisy, let me help you with that."

"Like, thanks little sister. Why are you, like, helping?" She asked, gladly taking a step back. She stood in the traditional pregnant pose, one hand on her stomach and the other on her lower back as if to brace it.

"I don't want my niece," She stuck her tongue out playfully at her older sister, "never nephew, to come out messed up because of the wear and tear you put on your body," Misty shrugged. "Now, Daisy, I've got a question for you."

"Like, shoot."

"Hypothetically,"

"Which, like, means this is, like, happening now," She smirked. Misty rolled her eyes. "Well, it always is. Wehn was, like the last time you hear dsomeone say 'hypothetically' or 'my friend' and they were talking about themselves?"

"All the time," Misty lied. "Anyway, let's say that some magical creatures come in out of nowhere and say that they want to grant every wish you have for nothing. They just want to share their magical powers with you and make you happy because that's their so called purpose in life. The thing is, you think these creatures are pretty weird and you don't want to get caught up in something that you'd regret later. What should you do?"

"Like, take the wishes!" Daisy said immediately.

"Daisy, I know this is hard for you, but now that you're a soon-to-be mother with a moron for a husband who's currently trying to find himself a job though he doesn't have any kind of degree, you're going to have to start thinking a bit."

"If you're getting that offer, you better wish for a crib, three years supply of diapers, and baby food that doesn't expire. You take that offer and you get a freaking nanny to help with these babies. That's right, I said these. I have twins in me. I haven't told Ken yet because I'm afraid he'll leave me. You keep your mouth shut about it, Misty, or I swear to whatever god there may be I will eat you!" Daisy snatched Misty by the collar and held her close to her snarling face.

"Pregnancy hormones, much?" Misty asked, a little scared and laughing nervously. "All right, Daisy. It...it was just hypothetical. There's no such thing as magical wish granters. You need to calm down. You're in your third trimester and we need to think of the baby and keeping you safe. Let me go and then you can go lie down. I'll have Lily bring you some ice cream, how does that sound?"

"Like it'll make me even more of a fat miltank!" She said, bursting into tears. "I'm going to be a horrible, fat, mean, stupid, ugly, FAT, mother!"

"Oh, for the love of Mew, Daisy. You're going to be a great mother. And if not, there's always the rest of us who will keep you and what's sure to be post partum depression with our family history from killing the baby or leaving it in the pool to die. It'll be okay. We're good with kids, remember? We can handle them together." She smiled as her sister wiped away her tears.

"Okay," she returned the smile. "Misty, I'm, like, sorry, but I'm all, like, emotional all the time and I've been, like, going through fifty million different, like, emotions a day."

"I understand. That's what pregnancy is supposed to do, right? It probably just means everything's healthy. Why don't you go lay down? I'll finish up here" She consoled. Daisy nodded and waddled off to her room, Misty trying not to giggle at the way her sister moved. "Twins, no wonder she's so big." She walked over to the stairs. "Lily, Daisy's hormones are freaking out, get her some chocolate ice cream!"

"Ugh, like, what'd she do now?" Lily called back.

"Just get the ice cream," She groaned. Misty trudged back to the attic once more, starting to get sick of going up and down the stairs, and only stopped to fix a picture that was just a tad off center. Snatching up the box and opening the slid, she plopped onto the floor and began to talk to the Unown once more. "And I can pull out any time I feel I'm losing control? You have no way of stopping me?" She paused. "I wish you'd tell the truth."

_Only the power of persuasion, which is quite useless against a sixteen year old girl who seems to be running on logic rather than emotion, _Unown A laughed lightly.

"It's what I do," She grinned. "Well then, I suppose it can't be all that bad, now can it? There's only one thing I don't understand. That little girl, she spelled out her wishes with tablets sometimes. Why did that work?"

_Any form of wishing we grant. But it can only be granted if you desire it…even in the slightest._

"Then I agree to your proposition," Misty nodded. She picked up the box and flipped it over, giving it a good shake to get all the tiles out. Each clattered to the floor, the box seeming bottomless with the things. Each became three dimensional as they hit the floor. "I'm sure I won't regret this. I just have to keep a good head on my shoulders. Everything's going to be fine and dandy and we'll be okay with the twins."

_Exactly. Don't go out of control, Misty. Power can be very manipulative, especially for a pretty little girl like you._ Unown A said, sensing the surprise radiating off the insecure girl at the last statement.

"Pretty?" She said to herself. Her cheeks tinted. "I'm not pretty. My sisters are pretty, my sisters are gorgeous. I'm just Misty, the runt." Unown A smiled to herself (if she could, in fact, smile). What a lovely insecurity she had discovered. This girl could simply not have made it easier for Unown A to do her job.

_Not pretty? Who told you that? You're plenty pretty! _Unown A stopped herself, she couldn't lay it on too thick. _Sure, your sisters may be more beautiful, and you're not drop dead gorgeous, but it's not like you're ugly, Misty. You're fairly attractive for a human. I don't mind looking at you!_

"Thanks for your opinion, but I can't exactly rely on your advice. We're different species. It's hard to determine what's pretty and what's not."

_That's not true! You know which water pokémon are prettier than others, don't you? _Unown A asked.

"Not pokémon to pokémon! I don't even know how I can tell the difference between the two luvdisks, but it's not by appearance, that much is for sure!" She turned away to busy herself with cleaning out the attic again. Unown A whirled up in front of her, glaring at her right in the face.

_You don't have to clean, that's what we're here for. _Unown A nudged her. _Just wish it clean, and it will be._

"…But it won't be right," she refused.

_What do you mean it won't be right? _Unown A inquired.

Misty shook her head and picked up the box, clicking it closed and putting it neatly in a pile. "Exactly what I said. You won't do it right. It won't be organized _my _way. It won't be the way _I _like it. I need that. I need it perfect. It's like…a psychological need. If it's not, it just eats at me and drives me insane until I just want to rip the stupid hat off and fix those stupid black bangs into some kind of order!" She shouted, clenching her fists up close to her chest. Unown A eyed her curiously.

_What are you talking about? That boy you traveled with?_

"His hair," she sighed. "It was always a mess. He was a mess. He never took my advice. It drove me insane. It's hard being a control freak with a stubborn person."

_You're a control freak? _Unown A asked, bouncing up and down on the inside. This was all too perfect! She already craved power, all she needed to do was get her away from this stupid responsibility kick she was on an she was in the clear! World domination had a new name.

"I can pull it back. I know how to control myself along with everybody else. Sometimes you have to let people make mistakes and grow and learn even though you stand there the whole time screaming it won't work. Then it does, of course. It always works out for him. You know what? I never come into the attic anyway. I wish you'd clean it," She said, walking away from the mess. "Just fix it. I won't look, I don't care."

_Already done, _Unown A laughed. Misty stopped and looked around, her breath catching in her throat. It was perfect. The attic looked like new. The wood shined with new polish, everything was put into a good order, it was all so… organized. _Is it up to your standards, or would you like to wish again, Misty? We grant exactly what you wish. If this is what you want, this is what you get. We just love dreams._

"It's incredible," she ran her hands along the walls. "Could I wish this place was bug free? Could I wish that all the vermin could stay out to keep the baby safe? Could I wish away germs? Oh, what about a nursery for the babies that are coming, with a room attached for Daisy and Ken, could I have that too? That would be incredible! I could wish for drawers that automatically refill themselves with diapers, and that our pantries were always stocked with what we needed."

_Don't you want to wish for something for yourself?_

"Sure, after I make sure everything else is taken care of. The babies come first, the babies, then the babies' parents, then my sisters, and then I can take care of myself. That's how a family works. Even though my sisters are self centered, I know any of them would put their lives on the line to save me. They're not bad people…just vain."

_Very kind of you. Do you usually put others before yourself, or have you just grown into that?_ Unown A was going to kill one of her companions now. She was the perfect subject, the perfect vessel. She had a need for power, liked things perfect, liked things her way, creative, easy to manipulate, and then she just had to go and be a good person. How could she be power mad and a good person? It was impossible!

"I've always liked nurturing things. It's why I love pokémon so much, and babies. Togepi was the best thing that ever happened to me." Misty turned to Unown A. "See, Togepi was my baby. She was a pokémon we had hatched from an egg, and I was the first one it saw. Of course, that was because I shoved my way through Brock and Ash to get to it, but it still imprinted on me. It was great to have something to care for."

_How sweet,_ she muttered.

"I'm probably boring you. Feel free to wander around, just don't let my sisters see any of you. I'll try and ease them into the situation later. I can't imagine how Ash will react when he gets here, not to mention May and Drew if they'd seen the news that year."

_Who's coming? _Unown A gasped. Friends were not good. Friend stalked people out of bad choices. Friends were much more manipulative to a sixteen year old girl than she could ever be. She'd taken on too much of a motherly role, a motherly tone. That was not good. Stupid! She flew into a wall.

"You okay?" Misty cocked her head to the side at the creature lying on the floor.

_I'm fine. You said your friends were coming?_

"Uh-huh. Ash and May and Drew are coming in a few days. Drew and May were already in our region for contests and Ash must be checking in on everybody. He's got his mom, Professor Oak, Tracey and Gary in Pallet, Brock in Pewter and I'm here in Cerulean. It'll be nice to see him and May again. Plus, I'll get to see this Drew kid that May keeps going on about. I think she likes him, and from the way he acts I think he likes her back. I can have plenty of fun with that."

_So can I, _Unown A thought to herself. _I can distract those two with each other, but what about the Chosen One? Ash, she called him. I can't distract him with Misty, I need to bend her to my will and trick her into thinking she's in control. There has to be some way I can use this to my advantage!_

"Maybe I should just tell them now. If I convince them ahead of time they'll help me out when Ash gets here," Misty thought aloud. She took her hair out of it's pony tail and ran her fingers through it before tying it back up again. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

_Do you really need to tell them? Well, of course you do. But what if they're against us? _She switched tactics to play on the maternal instinct Misty had talked about earlier. _I'd do anything to not be trapped in that stupid, dark place again. It was horrible! Don't make me go back!_

"Don't worry, I won't let them. You all seem so nice. It's not your fault you're forced to grant wishes. It's not like you want to take over the world," Misty giggled. "Just get out of that box."

_Thank you so much, Misty! I'm so glad you understand! So many people don't trust us! They think we're bad just because all the bad people get to us! But we're not bad. We're not responsible for that. It was out of our control. Completely out of our control at the very end…_

"You poor things. You don't have to worry anymore. I'll take care of you and you'll take care of me. You'll be extended, very useful members of the family. Besides, once my sisters hear you grant wishes they'll be all too eager to adopt you into the family.

_So you weren't kidding when you said they were vain?_

Misty laughed, "They're so vain, they probably think this song is about them." (A/N: Reference to a song called "You're So Vain" by Carly Simon. If you don't get it, it's fine, it's not that funny anyway…)

* * *

"So these things, like, grant wishes?" Lily asked, poking an O shaped one in the stomach. It squealed and raced away at the touch. "Like, I'm not so sure."

"Don't you remember a few years ago on the news, Lily…wait, who am I talking to?" She rolled her eyes and turned to Violet. "Remember a few years ago in the newspaper that headline story about that little girl building her own world?" She continued when her sister nodded, "these are the things that made it possible."

"No way!" Violet gasped.

"That's them," Misty nodded. "They just want to help."

"Like, what's the catch?" Daisy asked. She shoved another spoonful of chocolate ice cream into her mouth. "Misty, can I smell your hair? I'm craving the scent of your weird shampoo."

"It's called Vanilla Lavender and no, don't you touch me," Misty glared. "You're covered in chocolate."

"You don't love me," her eyes misted up.

"I'd care if it weren't the hormones," Misty patted her sister's shoulder reassuringly. "As I was saying, they're willing to do anything to help us. Anything. Just wish and they grant."

_Not so fast, Misty. _Unown A said. _I can only grant wishes to you._

"Just to me? But why?"

_It's how our system works. We do not want to be what we are, have such rules, but we have no choice. We are bound to one human at a time like we our bound to that box. We wish we could change it, but not even a wish from you for us to be free can break this curse. Those legendaries, they're the ones who did this to us. You see, they don't believe we can control our powers. We're older now, however, much older, and we can understand how to take care of ourselves and control ourselves. Instead of us being able to have freewill we are bound to a human, and one can only hope they're responsible or smart._

"Like, are you talking to yourself?" Lily asked.

"No, I'm talking to Unown A," Misty explained, confused. "You can't hear her? She talks right inside my head." She tapped her skull to illustrate.

_They can't hear me._

"That's obvious," Misty rolled her eyes. "The thing is, Ash is coming over. He's not going to be too happy with the Unown because they stole his mother."

_Borrowed._

"_Stole,_" Misty said firmly. "You had no intention, or at least Molly didn't, of giving her back. I'm going to need you three to side with me on this one. You need to help me cool down Ash if he's tempted to attack one of these things, and you know how Ash can be."

"Like, he's totally her boyfriend," Violet whispered to Lily.

"I heard that! He is not my boyfriend!" She snapped, beginning to blush. "Why do you always have to go there? After all, can't a girl and a guy just be friends without everyone assuming they're a couple?"

"No," Lily laughed. "We've, like, paired you off with every guy in the book but the only one that you seem to like and he, like, likes you back is Ash. Plus you, like, saved his life and all."

"I'm ignoring those comments and guessing we're all on the same page with the Unown?" She looked around at her sisters. They nodded. "Good," she said with relief. "Just keep an eye on me and make sure I don't let greed get the best of me. You know what happens when greed and wishes mix, don't you?" Violet nodded again, remembering the children's stories she had read not so long ago, but her other sisters still looked a bit baffled. "Listen, if things start to get out of hand and I want more than I should…If I start wishing for lots of things that will just please me, and only me, not helping you out in the least…" she shook her head. "I don't know what you should do. Stop me somehow. Kill me if it gets that bad. I've got some deadly power at my fingertips, and I really don't want to abuse it. Promise you'll watch me?"

"I promise," they agreed.

"Good," she said cheerfully. "With you and Unown A keeping an eye on me, there's no way this could get out of control. I'm perfectly safe with you guys around." She gave a hug to each of her sisters (an air hug to Daisy, not wanting to get too close) and touched the top of Unown A's head. "You watch me too. Make sure I don't screw this up for you guys, okay? I promised to take care of you but I'm going to need your help."

_Don't worry, Misty, _Unown A said, her voice seeming a bit mischievous to the redhead's ear. _I will never, ever, let you screw this up for us._

Oddly enough, though Misty had thought she was finally gaining trust an letting go of old grudges, she couldn't seem to shake the feeling that something very, very bad was about to happen.

…but that stuff never happened to her, right?

* * *

Don't get all exited now, I'm probably not going to update this frequently. I just had a good amount of spare time this weekend followed by a night of little homework! Do you guys like the bigger chapters, or is small better for you?

Thank you, Ahny, for correcting my spelling of Unown. Thought you should be mentioned in here.

Thank you, Super Reader for fixing my double name misuse. That was awfully stupid.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon. Why would I? Why would you want to sue me anyway? Get a life.**

I've noticed in big stories, a lot of author's use flashbacks. I'm not going to use flashbacks. They're annoying and time wasting. A simple quick story from a speaker will do fine. It's right to the point without those annoying little details that nobody really cares about (in a flashback) anyway.

* * *

Chapter 3

Misty bit at her lip as she stared out into the distance. The Unown had only been here one day, just one day, and the house was completely picked up. It shined. She had wanted to do something to help. She'd tried. She'd told Unown A everything from "You're our houseguests, relax!" to "I don't want to get too overwhelmed by wishes" to her real reason, "I really need something to do." They still refused to let her lift a finger. In fact, they were asking her for _more_ chores to do.

"Listen, it's really nice what you're doing and all, but I'd be happy if you just, I don't know, gave me some fancy French dessert each night," Misty shook her head. "Please, I need something to do."

_Why don't you wish yourself a game system? If games don't tickle your fancy, how would you enjoy a book? Would you like…hmm, a brand new big screen television?_

"I don't like video games. I like to buy my own books, not just wish for them. It makes me feel like I've accomplished something. As for the television, my old one works just fine. I've told you over and over I don't want anything from you for me. You've helped us out so much for the baby already. Trust me, you've repaid any debt of taking you in."

"Ash Ketchum calling, Ash Ketchum calling," The phone rang.

"Thanks for the caller ID as well," Misty smiled. She picked up the phone, sad to see there was no video attached. "Hey, Ash. Where are you?"

"How'd you know it was me?" Ash asked in surprise. He leaned back casually in his bus seat, ignoring May's questions as to who he was talking to. Drew, meanwhile, used May's need to practically get out of her seat and on top of Ash to see who he was calling to use that empty spot as a footrest.

"Er…I won a contest," She lied. She cursed at herself. She could lie so easily except when it came to him…and her sisters, but that was another story entirely. "I won free caller ID. What a first for me, right? I only sent in one postcard too."

Ash chuckled, "I guess people who play fair have to win sometime. I'm actually on the bus though, Misty. May and Drew are here with me. Guys, say hi."

"Hey! It'll be great to see you again, I can't wait! I've got so much to tell you! I've got a new dress and new coordinating ideas that I'm not going to share with _you_," she said pointedly. "Not you, Misty. I was talking to my rival. He's really weird. Ash, your phone is beeping."

"Because the batteries are dying," Misty heard faintly in the background. "So wrap it up! I just wanted you two to shout hi into the mike, not steal the phone!"

"Well, Ash's batteries are dying. I'll give the phone back to him. Hey!" Her voice was far away at the end and a nonchalant voice picked up where she left off.

"Hello, I'm Drew. I'm self-centered, perfect, romantic and adored by many fangirls. Your name and four things to describe you. Go."

"I'm Misty. I'm a redhead-"

"That's all I need to know. Ash, it's for you." The phone was tossed in the air and barely caught by Ash. "Nice catch, Ketchum. If your pokémon training skills were twice as good as your reflexes you couldn't beat May in a contest. Ugh, that was a bad one. I was trying to get an insult on both of you. So close."

"Okay, Misty, we're staying at the pokémon centre. We'll be at the gym tomorrow."

"Sunrise?" She asked, barely holding back a groan.

"Aw, you've gotten used to sleeping in. Don't worry. I've got a new pokémon friend who will have no problem waking you up," he sniggered. The phone hung up with a click, leaving Misty to shiver and close her eyes.

"He's going to bring another _bug _into my home," She said. Unown A swirled around her with interest. Wide eyes, paler face than usual, mouth a little slack; these were signs of a frightened human.

_You don't like bugs? You fear them._

"Mmm-hmm. It's pretty crippling. There's no tragic story behind it. It's just some irrational fear I have. When I was little I used to think there were bugs under my bed, waiting to come out and eat me. I would sleep on the diving board and be swimming in the morning by the time my parents got downstairs, so they had no idea. Then, one night, my dad came down to sneak a brownie and freaked out he saw me sleeping up there. Every night after that they'd pretend to sweep the bugs out form under my bed and throw them into the water and the pokémon would eat them. They actually just threw in pokefood, but it made me feel better." She blushed and shook her head wildly. "That's, what, the fifth memory of my parents I've told you? I've got to be boring you."

_No, actually. I find your stories to be quite interesting. They're so interesting I wouldn't mind sitting down for a while and talking all about you. I'll listen to everything. Your likes, dislikes, fears, desires, I'll listen if you speak. I'm very easy to please._ Misty cheered up immediately and nodded, beginning her story. Unown A thought, _And apparently, so are you.

* * *

_

"Drew whatchya reading?" May asked, leaning forward to peek at his magazine. He licked his finger and turned the page, not looking at her. "Drew! Talk to me! We've been on this bus for two hours and you're the only one to talk to! Whenever I try and talk to Ash he starts quoting horror movies and those freaky horror movie rhymes he made me watch." She glared at him. He smiled at her innocently, MP3 player in his ears.

"One, two, Freddy's coming for you," Ash began in a haunting, childish voice.

"Stop it!" She shrieked, covering her ears and darting back into her seat. She dug in her fanny pack and snatched out an MP3 of her own. She played with it for a minutes, hands shaking, until the music blasted loud enough for everyone on the bus to hear.

"You shut her up. Mind teaching me that?" Drew asked.

"Three, four, lock your door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again. The last line can actually be nine, ten, Freddy's back again. It's up to you. Just look up horror movie quotes and rhymes. _'Dead Silence' _is a good one to quote. That freaked her out."

"So anything horror related will shut her up?" Drew asked. Ash nodded. "Why didn't somebody tell me this sooner? That would've saved me so much trouble. Not to mention how much fun I can have with that. Horror movies, why didn't I think of that?"

"Misty's the queen of horror. If you want to sit with May and watch a horror movie with you, you can borrow one of hers." Drew gave Ash a confused look. "You know, you could sit with her in the dark, with no one around, watching a movie that will make May extra clingy," Ash elaborating. Drew's face began to shade darker and darker shades of red as he sank down lower and lower in his seat while the magazine covered more and more of his face. "Why are you blushing Drew? You're not thinking anything too mature are you?"

"You're only two years older than me," he growled. "Don't act like you're better than me."

"I'm better than everyone," Ash stated. Drew stared at him, trying to find out if there was some kind of joke in his voice. "At least at pokémon training. You can have coordinating. You can take May, too. We all know you want her," Ash taunted. He turned around and wrapped his arms around himself, acting like he was making out with someone.

May quietly pulled out her headset and slowly turned to stare at Ash, then to Drew. "What's he doing?" She asked him. Drew shrugged, pretending he didn't know. "Uh, Ash? What are you doing?" May tapped his shoulder. Ash spun around, blushing a bit.

"Uh, nothing?" He said, making it sound like a question. "Maybe we should drop that topic. May, Drew can't say it but he's madly in love with you. He told me in secret that I'd keep it secret but I just got tourettes and I can't control myself anymore. If you and Drew can't control yourselves anymore and start making out, it's fine. I don't mind. I'll look away," his eyes glazed over as he lost himself to his imagination, "and then the bandits came because May had a magic gem and she's destined to save the world."

"What is wrong with you?" Drew asked. Ash frowned, kicked him in the shin, and went back to his music. "May, you wanted to talk. Talk, I'm listening."

"When I was really little-"

"No. I'm not listening to some anecdote that I really don't care about. Let's play the five finger game," he suggests, holding up an open hand. May blinked confusedly. "I'll explain. We'll each say something, like…have you ever gone skiing? If you have, you put a finger down. If I have, I have to as well. It's a great way to get to know people. Better than truth or dare. You have to make sure you ask yes or no questions though, or it doesn't work. If you get uncomfortable at any point, just tell me."

"You'll make fun of me," she disagreed.

"No I won't. I promise," he said. "Cross my heart and hope to die." Drew drew an X over his heart, wondering what possessed him to do such an old habit.

"Okay." She held her hand out, fingers spread. "Have you ever wanted to be something besides a pokémon coordinator?" Drew's thumb dropped. "What?"

"I wanted to be a Grass Pokémon Master," he explained, getting comfortable. "I always liked grass pokémon, but I wasn't good at flat out battling. I didn't figure out what a good path was for me until a girl came up to me after a match. She said that I had kept saying, 'that doesn't look right!' under my breath, and that coordinating might be a good path for me. I really enjoyed it and I was good at it, so I stuck with it. It's my turn. Have you ever been kissed by someone of the opposite gender outside your family on the lips?" He dropped another finger down.

"Does it count if it was a dare?" May asked. Drew nodded and May pulled in her thumb. The bus gave a leap and hit the ground hard. "Ow. It was at a birthday party. We were playing truth or dare, and I really didn't want to choose truth because they'd ask me something really embarrassing in front of all the boys. I didn't want to play, either. But you can't _not _play truth or dare at a party when someone starts it or else everyone makes fun of you!"

"I've been to plenty of truth or dare parties and not played," Ash butted in.

"Number one, it's rude to eavesdrop. Number two, that's because you probably were an outcast anyway or when you got older you would run off with Misty."

"Number one, my headphones fell out when the bus jumped. Number two…okay, you're right. That doesn't make me a loser. It means I have a really good friend now."

"I'd turn around and do the make out thing right now if I didn't want to look like an idiot." Drew was granted another kick in the shin and silence again. "Everyone has to interfere with what I'm doing. You earlier with my magazine and Ash with this game. Am I really that irresistible?"

"No. This is what happens when you put a bunch of bored people into one place," May said. "So, tell me about your kiss outside your family with the opposite gender on the lips?"

"It was my friend, Sara. I didn't really have a choice in the matter. She was the first girl I had a crush on, and she liked me back. The day I left, she gave me a kiss. She wasn't going to leave when she turned ten. She was going to stay and take care of her family's store. I miss her, but distance didn't make the heart grow fonder. We were only ten, after all."

"Do you keep in contact?"

"Oh, yeah. We're still great friends. I write to her all the time and call her every once in a while. She's moved on and so have I. Normal kids don't meet their soul mates at ten years old," he said.

"We're not in normal company," May said, just loud enough for Drew to hear and smirk at. "Enough of that, it's my turn. Have you ever…saved the world?" She proudly dropped her pinkie finger. He rolled his eyes. "No? Really? Most of my friends have. I must have some great friends."

"You've got weird friends," Drew contradicted. "It's my turn again. Is there anyone you want to kiss right now?"

"I'm uncomfortable," May said automatically, dropping her hand. She looked at Drew expectantly for some kind of pressure. He should've been teasing her, saying that it was him, wasn't it? He should've been calling her a baby. He should've been laughing or saying it wasn't fair. But he wasn't. He pulled out a book with a vampire on the cover without a word. "Thank you."

"For keeping a promise? Don't thank me for that. It's what I'm supposed to do, no matter how bad a coordinator I'm talking too," he smacked his forehead. "I screwed it up again. I must be off today."

* * *

"You know, you're a great listener," Misty said, leaning back casually and looking at Unown A. Her head cocked to the side. "Why are you so interested in me?" She asked.

_After being trapped in a box for so long any form of entertainment can keep my interest. You are an interesting girl, Misty. You seem awfully open with me._

"I've got nothing to gain by hiding. You have to keep my secrets, don't you? If that's what I want, you have no choice. I'm open with all my pokémon, I don't need a reputation with them. It's usually better to show my sensitive side with them. It connects us, y'know?"

_I understand perfectly. Is there anyone else you're this open with? Ash, perhaps?_

"No, I…you think I like him too, don't you?" Misty frowned. "I don't. Everyone says I do, but I don't. What would I like about him anyway? He's stupid, annoying, childish, irresponsible, it's not like he's particularly good looking either. Gary would probably be a better choice than him. At least he's got looks to make the rest of it a little better, though it does come with an inflated ego."

_Your friend, Ash. How well do you think he's knows you?_

"How well does he know me?" Misty repeated. "Well enough, I guess. He doesn't know a lot about my past. I don't share that with a lot of people. Other than that, he knows me pretty well. He knows my personality like I know his. We're best friends."

_Do you think he would recognize you in some other form?_ Unown A asked. Misty repeated the question to herself, not understanding where this was leading to._ Not as in looking like somebody else, but what if you were younger? What if you met him looking like you were, I don't know, seven?_

"Seven?" Misty said. "I don't know. He's never seen my baby pictures, but I look pretty much the same. I guess if I walked up to him now he wouldn't think I was me, just because he knows I'm sixteen. Then again, I am the only one with a carrot top, except for that psycho Nastina woman but she has to be dead by now. It is Ash though, he's pretty dense…Oh, I don't know."

_Want to find out? _Unown A queried. _I can do that. I can make you seven again. You can change back at any time, Misty. It's just a prank, see if he recognizes you._

"Really?" Misty said excitedly. "That'd be fun. I haven't done anything like that in a while. All the work is done, the house is clean, my pokémon can't handle anymore training. I've got nothing to do after all…it wouldn't kill me to have a little fun. It'll be until the house gets messed up and the work's back."

_Exactly. Just a bit of fun, _Unown A agreed. _You can change back anytime you want. There's not a side effect to fear. It's a million times better than any human medication you could buy._

"Are you sure? Nothing will happen to me? My body won't freak out, it won't hurt?" She asked. Unown A laughed and replied no. Misty took a deep breath and nodded. "Sure, then. Why not? No pain. No pain, right?"

_No pain at all. In fact, you may never want to change back. _Unown A noticed she stiffened. _Joking, of course._

"Right," Misty nodded. "Joking." She yawned and rubbed her eyes sleepily. "What time is it, anyway?" She staggered to her feet and dragged herself up the stairs to her room. She picked up the digital clock and groaned. "It's one a.m. When did that happen? We could not have talked that long."

_You had a lot to say, _Unown A said casually.

Misty pulled her hair out of its ponytail and collapsed on the bed, not getting under the covers, not changing gout of her clothes, feeling exhausted. This was starting to get strange. Why would she ever want to do something that stupid? See if Ash recognized her? What was the point? She shook off her sleepy thoughts and let herself sleep. She'd think about it more in the morning.


	4. Chapter 4

Well, my self confidence level has dropped again so…er…here's a new chapter. Reviewing would make me cheerful. Anyway, there I go again with my stupid little need to swear. It's a teen fiction…surprise (sarcastic remark). Yeah, that's not like me at all.

* * *

**Chapter Four**

"Listen, Misty, sorry to call so late," Ash began.

Misty groaned and shifted under her covers, "three…freaking a.m. It is three in the morning, Ash. How could you possibly think it's human to call someone this early? That's cruel. What are you doing up so early anyway?"

"The bus just pulled over and woke us all up. There's been traffic all day, we could've gotten to you faster by walking, but we stayed on and then we fell asleep and now there's some storm blowing outside. The gym's too far, I can visit you tomorrow, we're just crashing here at the pokémon center for tonight."

"Really?" Misty murmured. She licked her lips and sat up. No, she couldn't. It was stupid. What kind of prank was it? See if Ash _recognized_ her? That was just plain weird. She would not, could not, and should not stoop to that level of immaturity! Please, like she would ever do something like that. "Hey, Ash, why don't you stay there for the day? It's not that I don't want you to come, but the house is a mess. Can you please let me have the day to clean it, and, you know, get Daisy all cooled down?"

"Is she still emotional?"

"Oh, completely," Misty chuckled. She bit her lip immediately after. What was she doing? The house was immaculate! She was so, so stupid! "I can't wait to see you again, Ash. I've missed you."

"Careful, Mist. You sound like you care about me," Ash teased. "Pretty soon we may be holding hands and…" his confident voice broke off. "Misty, are you blushing too?"

"Not too badly," She lied, completely red. "I don't think I can put up with that type of teasing yet, Ash. I _have _been getting a bit, ugh, touchy feely. I can't help it! Every time I think of Daisy's baby I just," she gave a dreamy sigh. "I love babies."

"I'm glad to hear that. Maybe I can bring my little cousin over to your house for a week or two," Ash said slyly. He heard the snort over the phone and cracked up. "You still remember him?"

"How he kept rhyming everything he said and making up weird little raps? Oh, vaguely. I wanted to kill him, Ketchum. Now I know how your mom must've felt growing up." They both laughed again. This time Ash was a little too loud, however.

"Ash! Shut up with your stupid girlfriend! I'm tired! Hang up the phone before I (censored language) kill you!" Came the frustrated voice. She was pretty sure that was Drew, since it obviously wasn't May and Ash wouldn't be yelling at himself. Well…at least not this time.

"She's not my girlfriend! Romeo, go get a room with Juliet in the pokémon center."

"Three rooms, dammit!" Drew retorted. "May, move it! I'm tired and cranky and…and…" May walked up to him, tired as well and not bothering to snap for being mistreated. "tToo much yelling. I can't breathe. Woah," Drew stumbled and fell to the sidewalk, his bag in one hand panting for air. "I've never yelled that much in my life."

"Ash, what's happening?"

"Drew's a robot and can't show emotion, shush. I'm watching," Ash said quickly into the phone, watching the scene unfold.

May picked up Drew's bag and swung it over one shoulder. Then, just feeling witty at the moment, walked away shouting, "Drew, I know that the very thought of me coming close is overwhelmingly delightful since I'm so beautiful and all. I understand that you're feeling some new emotions. That's fine, but please, try and keep from falling for me." Drew's mouth dropped open. He murmured something about 'so that's where the mojo went' and stumbled to his feet. He strolled, not to dare try running (it wasn't his forte), off to the pokémon center, the blush barely visible in the lamplight.

"Did you hear that?"

"Oh my freaking Mew did I ever! Tell May I am so proud of her I could cry," Misty squealed. Four years had passed since the first insult passed between May and Drew. Now…now May had finally gotten her revenge. One comment may not seem like much, but it was a sign that though her rival had won many a battle, he had most certainly not won the war. "Ash, I'm really tired. I don't mean to be rude but-"

"Sweet dreams, Mist. I'm sure I'll be in them." he said sweetly. "Oh, and one last thing."

"Yes?"

"If you keep this up, we'll be holding hand and _kissing_!" He said, dramatically finishing off his earlier statement. "Are you blushing now, Kasumi?" The phone fell from her hands and she scrambled to pick it up again.

…_call has been disconnected. You may hang up and try again later…_

Misty pressed the disconnect button on the phone, taking deep breaths in and out. It was all okay. She'd be fine. Calm the heart, deep breaths in and out, let the moment drift away, forget what made you feel that way. That's how she cooled down her temper tantrums. This was the same thing, wasn't it? Another tantrum because the great Ash Ketchum had ever thought that'd they'd actually…_kiss_ one day! Please, like she'd ever be caught dead in a liplock with Ash Ketchum. Not even to save his life!

Well, CPR, yes. But not just a romantic kiss with the guy!

_Misty? Are you okay? Was that that Ash boy?_

"Yeah. We, we can do that prank you wanted. To test how well he knows me? It's all set up, not a problem." She blinked up at Unnown A. She was too nosy. "G-goodnight." Misty snuggled deep down under the covers, squeezing her eyes shut.

No. She did not love Ash. Yes. She had temper tantrums. No. She and Ash were not an 'item'. No. She did not wish they were. Yes. It angered her when people teased her about it. Why? She hated gossip. Really? Of course, she hated people making fun of her! Or, wait, wasn't her reason gossip? Maybe, are the stories getting confused? No! There were no stories! She wouldn't lie to herself of all people! Sure, honesty had never been her strong point, but she had never lied to _herself _before. Are you mad now? Is that what you're feeling? Yes, undoubtedly.

So if she was feeling all the common symptoms of severe anger; red faced, heart racing, shivering, stomach clenched, then why was this strange other symptom coming over her? This strange feeling like a blanket warming her from the inside out?

Was it love?

No. Not love. Sixteen year olds did not fall in love. Sixteen year old did not have crushes on the strange excited kid in the background, but the nice, strong, stable, cocky, muscular goofball shoving his way through the crowd.

But as she started to drift off again, she couldn't stop that little voice in the back of her head…_Ash has muscles too._

There was one other strange thing she felt, though. When she kicked out her foot to hang it over the bed (which she liked to do sometimes when nobody was there to see) she couldn't find the end of the bed. She humphed, a humph that sounded much too high (but it had to be the sleep deprivation!) and crawled on over to let the foot fall, only to bring it back again with the strangest thought of all.

She thought: I can't let my foot hang out over the bed. The monster might grab it.

* * *

" 'I can see clearly now the rain has gone! I can see all obstacles in my way! I don't know all the lyrics actually! It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day! It's going to be a bright, bright sunshiny day!' " Ash banged on May's door, belting out the song as loud as he could. He didn't have the best voice in the world, but at least it could carry!

"Ash! Go away! It's only eleven!"

"In the morning!" Ash argued. "Even I can't sleep in this late! Come on, May! I'm lonely and Misty says I can't come until tonight and I'm afraid she'll beat the crap out of me if I show up out of nowhere!"

"Go try Drew," She muttered, letting her head crash back down into the pillow.

"Okay," he shrugged. Down the hall he went, off to Drew's room with a new song in mind. He knocked on Drew's door, cleared his throat, and began proudly. " 'Just can't look its killing me and taking control! Jealousy, turning saints into the sea swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis, but it's jus the price I pay! Destiny is calling me! Open up my eager eyes, 'cause I'm Mr. Bright Side!' "

"Ash, give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right now."

"IEven better, I'll give you three. I've saved the world and therefore your ass about fifteen times, I just woke May up with 'I Can See Clearly Now' and I woke you with The Killers. I could've woken you up with Wicked. I could've sang 'As Long As You're Mine'. Do you really want that?"

"You know musicals?" Drew groaned.

"Do you want to take that chance?" Ash shot back. "Wake up! I'm bored. We can do whatever you like to do. What do you like to do?"

"I like video games," Drew said, just loud enough for Ash to hear. He rolled out of bed with a tired groan. His head rolled on his shoulders for a moment, then he unlocked the door and burst through. Ash tumbled backwards with surprise. "I like video games."

"Arcade it is, then," Ash beamed. He grabbed a still sleepy Drew by the collar and dragged him out the door. This resulted in a quick scuffle a few minutes later in which Drew managed to escape Ash's death grip. They began their peaceful stroll to Cerulean City's arcade. "So, how are you and May doing?"

"Why are you here?" Drew asked. "Seems awfully weird to finish up one league, stop looking for another, and drop by to pay your old friend a visit, especially since you didn't even bother to call Brock."

"Fine, I'll drop the topic!" Ash snapped with a blush. "Come on, the best arcade in town is this way." He took a violent spin around the corner, neither of the boys noticing the nervous girl behind them, the floating creature above her head.

"Unown A, this may be a weird question but, before you make me little again, did you...did you do something last night?"

_Do anything?_

"Like, make me a kid again?"

_Oh, no! I wouldn't do that! You see, if you sleep in a different form than your own, you might get too comfortable. You might not want to change back, you see? It's much too dangerous._ Unown A explained. Misty nodded.

"Alright, this is it, I guess," Misty said, running her tongue over her dry lips. "Make me little again, please."

_How little? _Unown A said.

"Seven," Misty said without hesitation. "I want to be seven again. It's young enough that I look different but old enough that I give him a fighting chance of recognizing me. Even though the idiot should be able to get it from the hair," she muttered. She closed her eyes and nodded. "I wish I was seven years old again."

* * *

Ash took his hat off to let his head cool off a bit. Maybe Drew was right, he should've cooled it on that samuri game. He had started out well enough, but then the creatures were everywhere and he had felt overwhelmed. He panicked, thrashing everywhere until he slipped and fell down. After that he had screamed something about a 'panic attack' and ran out of the place.

"Ash?" He heard. He turned to see a little girl stare up at him. Her eyes were blue and wide, her hair was the traditional carrot top color and she couldn't be any older than (A/N: if you don't know this, you need some mental help) seven.

"Do…Do I know you?" Ash asked, wondering how she knew his name. Misty gave a sly smile.

"No, at least I don't think you do. My older brother says that you were on the news though when you saved the world a bunch of times," she said. "He's a pokémon trainer too. He left eleven years ago to start his journey. He's never saved the world though. How did you manage too?"

"Uh, I just did. I got roped into this Chosen One thing. What was your name?" Ash asked.

"Kay Kay," She giggled, the name out of her mouth before she could stop it. Why, oh Ho-Oh, why that nickname? She hated that nickname! Then again, it did sound awfully cute on her seven year old self. "My brother said you're from Pallet Town, what's a Charizard doing here?" She smirked, referring to the Pallet Town football team. "It's pretty out of the way. You challenging the gym?"

"No, I'm visiting the Waterflowers. Well, Misty anyway," Ash grinned. He sat down on the cement and patted the spot next to him. "Here, sit. Let's talk."

"Misty? She's the youngest one, isn't she?" Misty asked Ash. He nodded. "Why would you visit her? I mean, she's cool and all, but I thought boys liked the pretty girls."

"That's mean. Are you saying Misty isn't pretty?" Ash accused. "You shouldn't do that unless you're teasing them. That's how you lose friends. I'd never want to do that to Misty, she's the best friend a guy could have. She's a good gym leader too. Show some respect for the town gym leaders."

"Dirty Charizard," Misty grinned. "I guess you're right though. I do like Misty. She's pretty nice. Guys just usually stay away from her since her older sisters are so pretty."

"No, she's got a new boyfriend every week."

"They break up with her?"

"Sometimes. Sometimes she breaks up with them. Sometimes she practically forces them to break up with her. Misty's complicated. You look a lot like her, has anyone ever told you that?" Ash asked. Misty nodded excitedly. "You could practically be her twin! Uh, if Misty was, how old are you?"

"Seven and one half," She declared proudly.

"Seven, right."

"Not seven!" Misty gasped angrily. "I just told you! I'm seven and one half! Not just seven! Weren't you listening? I bet you weren't! Boys never listen." She crossed her arms over her chest. This was getting weird. It was one thing to act like she was seven, but this wasn't good acting. This was coming out of her like it was a natural reaction. "How old are you?"

"Three hundred and seventy six," he smiled. "Where are your parents? You shouldn't be walking out here by yourself. Someone has to be taking care of you."

"No, I take care of myself, usually. My parents don't mind as long as I'm home for dinner. I can choose inside or outside and that's where I have to be all day. That's why I always have my bag," Kay Kay explained. She looked around her. "My bag is…oops, at home! Oh no! All my pokémon are in there!"

"Pokémon? You're not old enough for that," Ash said suspiciously.

Misty scrambled for an answer that didn't include her being a gym leader. "No, you have to be ten to get a pokémon from a Professor and go on a pokémon journey. If you sweet talk one into being your friend and then catch other pokémon it just means you're smart. Find where it says no to that in the rule book," Misty said triumphantly.

"You're smart for a seven year old. I wasn't like this."

"Maybe you were stupid," Kay Kay retorted.

"Was not."

"Was too!" The battle began, and Drew was quite surprised to come out of the arcade to see Ash arguing with a little girl.

"I see you've finally found someone at your intelligence level, congrats," He said sarcastically. Ash blushed and looked at his, well, not exactly friend, but acquaintance.

"Shut up, Drew. I got carried away!" Ash glared. He looked back at the little girl. "Would you like me to walk you home…uh, what was your name again?"

"Kay Kay," Kay Kay smiled. This was starting to get comfortable. She loved this body. Why had she been so excited to grow up and get out of it? She could see a million different places she could run off too in a smaller body, not to mention all the good hide and seek places! Why oh why would she ever want to be a big, clumsy teenager? They were always listening to stupid music and making kissy faces at one another. Ick, that was only cute with Cinderella and the other princesses! "Don't worry about me, Ash! I can find my own way home!" She giggled. "Bye! Maybe I'll see you around!"

As the young girl scrambled off around the corner, Drew began to put his two cents in once again. "Red head, like that Misty girl you've been talking about in your sleep. Weird, you don't see too many red heads anymore, they're working their way out of the gene pool. It's probably because you need to recessive genes to make red hair."

"Drew, where the _hell _did that come from?" Ash asked. "Do you have tourettes or something?"

"Don't make fun of mental diseases, Ash. It's cruel. Stop being a retard," he smirked, walking off contentedly. "Yeah, I'm back."

* * *

Less than twenty minutes later, Kay Kay burst through the doors of her home, eyes wide. "Daisy! Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy Daisy!" She screamed, racing into the kitchen. Instead of finding the usual, her mother with the oldest of her sisters making dinner, she found Lily. The out of place sister was washing dishes in the sink. "Lily?"

"Misty?" Lily gasped, the plate slipping from her hand and crashing to that floor.

"Misty? Why'd you call me that?" Kay Kay blinked. "I told you, I hate Misty. Call me Kay Kay."

"Oh fuh…fudge," Lily swallowed. "Vuh-Violet?" her voice began to rise closer to a hysterical scream, "Vuh-Violet! Violet! Violet come here!" She gripped the counter and bent forward, panting. Violet crashed into the kitchen.

"Like, what's wrong, Lily?" Violet touched her sister's shoulder comfortingly. Lily pointed a shaky hand towards her younger sister, her much, much younger sister.

After much swallowing and gasping and panting, the pink haired girl finally manage to strangle out her conclusion. "They, like, got Misty, Violet. We're like, totally screwed."

"Like, what do you mean?" Violet asked. She followed Lily's pointing finger and her heart hardened in her chest. "Damn."

* * *

Was the chapter understandable, with the Kay Kay/Misty thing? It seemed to be. Tell me in a review!


	5. Chapter 5

Urg, I want to get to the flippin' romance! That's why I can't do these things…I write fanfics for romance, duh! Oh well, I'll make it. It's hard, but I'll push through! Here's the next chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 5**

"What'd I do?" Kay Kay asked, cocking her head to the side. She skipped into the kitchen with a giggle at their faces, sliding into her seat. "Did you guys get taller or something? May I just got shorter," she giggled again. "What day is today?"

"Uh, it's Tuesday."

"Oh, does that mean I have school tomorrow?" Kay Kay groaned. "I don't wanna go to school! I hate school, especially the teachers. They're soooooooooooooooo mean. Whatchya doin? Tell me, tell me! Come on! Why y'starin' at me like that?"

"Misty, er, uh, Kay Kay," Violet said. "Like, you're not seven."

"I'm…" Misty shook her head wildly. "I know! I was playing a prank on Ash. It was Unown A's idea. Where is she, anyway?" She asked.

**In another room…**

_My f---ing MEW! What the _hell?_ It should not be this f---ing hard to manipulate a Mew damned girl! She's, what, seven now? She should _stay _in the mindset of a seven year old. Why is she bouncing back and forth? _Unown A began to slam herself into the wall.

_Like, dude, go with the flow, dude! Stop freaking out and just take a deep breath in!_ Unown D said, floating about aimlessly and bumping into a few walls himself. Unown A eyed him wearily, starting to fly off to Misty. _Where are you going, man?_

_Away from you, that's where, _She muttered. _Ah, well, she should be fine soon. She can't fight off childhood forever, can she? …though it is awfully weird how she's been fighting it off._

**(Short scene change, huh?) With Misty…**

"Unown A? Unown A! I need to change back!" Misty cried out. "Unow…oh! There you are!" She blinked as Unown A stopped beside her. "It's time to change back now, isn't it?"

_What? No! The prank has only begun!_

"Really?" Misty said slowly. "I thought that…we really shouldn't…It would be fun…Oh! Just tell me! What are we going to do next? Tell me who we're pranking! _Please!_" There was Kay Kay again, bouncing up and down in her seat, shaking with anticipation.

_You know the two Ash is traveling with, May and Drew? _Unown A said slyly. _They're nice aren't they? You think they wouldn't mind a prank pulled on them. That Drew seems awfully quick, maybe he'll figure out who you are! You've got the entire day to play in this form, Kay Kay. Have fun!_

"You're right! I should have fun! And you know what else? I know just how to do it! You know what I'll do? I'll…I'll…um, I know! I'll do what you said! I'll pull the same prank on May and Drew! They won't know who I am! I won't act like a grown up at all! They'll never know it was me."

_Great idea! Act as young as you can! They'll never get it then!_

"Maybe that's not fair," Kay Kay said thoughtfully. She giggled. "Maybe I should act a little grown up to give them a fighting chance!"

_What? No! Uh, no! You can't do that! _Kay Kay looked confusedly up at Unown A. The pokémon scrambled for a way to fix her 'uh-oh'. _I, uh, mean…why let them win? Nobody likes it when you let them win, do they? Do you? _Kay Kay shook her head wildly, looking appalled. _So you won't let them win. You'll trick them all, and then when they come you can tell them who you really are! Won't that be more fun than letting them win?_

"Lots of fun!" Kay Kay said giddily. She spun around in a circle and giggled madly. "Where are we going? Where are we going? Where are we going! Oh, dizzy!" She stopped and held her head, stumbling around aimless way. Lily and Violet swallowed and tried to sneak their way out the door. "Violet! Lily? Where are you going?" Kay Kay turned to them. "Were you going to tell Daisy? Don't you dare tell Daisy! She'll ruin all the fun!"

"Like, tell Daisy? We, like, weren't going to, like, tell Daisy!" Violet gasped. She gripped her sister's hand tightly. They talked like they were stupid, sure. She knew that, but it didn't mean they _were _stupid. Oh, Misty was dangerous now. They remembered their sister when she was little. She wasn't a bad kid, no, she didn't like to hurt people, but she was a little…Misty was hyper, angry, socially inept and desperate for any kind of attention.

"I think you were," Kay Kay narrowed her eyes. "You want to ruin my fun! I won't let you! Don't you dare tell her!" She stomped her foot. Her blood began to boil. "You three always screw up everything I try to do! Let me have some fun! You're not Mom! Unown A?" The creature turned to her. "I wish they'd go away! I wish they'd get locked up in…in the basement! Then they couldn't tell Daisy anything!"

_Whatever you want, Kay Kay, _Unown A smiled, turned a deadly gaze to the girl's older siblings.

"Wait! Wait! No! I wish it was a nice place! Make the basement like, like heaven to them! That way they wouldn't even want to try and leave! I don't want them to tell but I don't want to torture them either. I don't wanna know what they'd do to me when they came out of there," Kay Kay shivered.

"See? And you thought it was, like, a bad thing that we tortured her so much she, like, totally feared us!" Lily whispered to her sister with a giggle. Violet rolled her eyes. "Like, Kay Kay, don't you think this is a little bit stupid?"

"Stupid?" She inquired. Kay Kay giggled back in a slightly wicked tone. "No, I don't think this is stupid at all. I think that _you're _stupid! You know what stupid pretty girls get? They get everything they want for free while the smart, ugly girls have to work for it. So while _I _work for my fun, you'll be in the basement! Think that's fair?"

"Like, not really," Violet blinked.

"Too bad! I do!" Kay Kay giggled. "Unown A, send them away!" She waved him arm in a grand style. One second they were there, the next her sisters were gone. Her eyes widened in astonishment, her breath quick. "Woah!"

_Woah is right,_ Unown A chuckled. _I've made your wish come true, Kay Kay. You wouldn't have any other wishes, would you?_ Kay Kay shook her head. Unown A frowned. This was starting to get annoying. Was it really that hard to want things? _Not a thing? You could have anything! Maybe a chocolate sundae or a new doll? How would you like…hmm, do you want a make up set? How would you like a pretty new dress?_

"No. Ice cream will spoil my dinner, I don't like dolls and I hate dresses! They're so uncomfortable. Maybe I'll ask you for something later. Now let's go find May and Drew! I want to play the biggest prank ever on them! Let's go! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" She raced out of the room, whacking her shoulder on the door frame as she went, but not missing a step. "Aren't you coming, Unown A? We've got to hurry!"

_Coming! _She called. _Freaking bipolar little psychopath…

* * *

_

"Arcade?" May asked. "What were you doing at the arcade? Where's Ash?" She crossed her arms over her chest with a glare at Drew. "Did you ditch him? Don't you remember what happened lat time you ditched him? Ash ended up in a well singing 'I'm gonna get a po-kay-ball with a special surprise insi-ide!' "

"Yeah, well, I ditched him in a better part of town this time and I'm sure Team Rocket won't try the same thing again," Drew paused. "Well, Ash wouldn't fall for the same thing again." Another long pause. "He'll be fine!"

"Drew, Ash is one of my best friends. You better not have killed him. Do you know the things everyone else would do to you for what you did? Including Legendary freaking pokémon? Do you know what would happen to me for letting you do what you did? I swear on my grandfather's grave, is the headline tomorrow morning says "Boy Found Dead In Well, Smiles In Death" or something like that, I'm going to shove my hand down your throat and pull out your intestines!"

"That's not your threat," Drew challenged.

"No, it's Misty's. I borrowed it, she won't mind. In fact, Misty'll be flattered. Where did you leave him?"

"I told you! He's at the arcade playing some guitar game. He says he's going to play until he beats it at expert. With the way he plays we have some peace and quiet." He strode past May into the room, pulling out a magazine as he went.

"You're just going to read?"

"Yes."

"A magazine?"

"No, I'm going to read a pamphlet for a few hours. That'll be exciting," he scoffed. He plopped down on her bed and began paging through it. "You've got a queen size bed! I got a twin size! How the hell did you manage to get that?"

"Oh, I bribed the guy writing down room numbers. Misty taught me how to do that too. She's a complete scam artist. There may be a reason why Ash was able to afford everything he did, and it wasn't winning battles, that's for sure."

"You think Misty scammed them money? Flirting with a clerk for a bigger room is one thing, but I can't really see her actually making a scam out of it. Misty sounds nice from what you guys have told me about her." Drew said, lowering the magazine. May snorted. "Oh, come on! Grow up, May. Brock wouldn't let them do that. Ash wouldn't let her do that either! Ash is practically an angel. I can't think of a single time he's done anything against the law."

"Ash is complex," May sighed. "I'm not sure about anything when it comes to those three." She ran and jumped on the ed, right next to Drew. "So, Drew, what are you reading?" She peered over his shoulder at the colorful magazine.

"It's a coordinator magazine."

"Is that all you read?"

"Menus, Schedules, letters and coordinating magazines," Drew sighed. "That's all I have the patience for. I should really read more. That's what my sister tells me. Why don't you read a book May? They're educational."

"Ugh, I don't want to read. Reading is boring and time consuming and it's so much more fun to talk," May got comfortable on the bed, laying down on her stomach with her head near Drew's. "Talk to me Drew."

"What do you want to talk about?" He asked.

"I want to talk about…" She tapped her chin thoughtfully. " I want to talk about girls."

"May I never would have thought that you, out of all the girls I met, would be a lesbian," Drew chuckled. "Well, surprise, surprise. So, who's the lucky girl you have your first crush on? Misty? Is that why you agreed to come?

"I'm not a lesbian!" May snapped. "I meant your love interests!"

"May, are you homophobic?" Drew said in a scolding voice. May grabbed a pillow, threw her head in it, and began to scream. "Does the mention of the word 'homo' fill you with so much fear you have to release it with a primal scream?" She didn't look up from the pillow, but smacked Drew hard. "Ow!"

"You deserved that, and you know it," May muttered. "If I can't call you gay, you can't either!" She looked up from the pillow at him, the smile returning to her face. "So, who's your lover, Drew? I'd love to hear all about him."

"Hey! I thought we made and agreement!" Drew snapped.

"Well I had to get even," May retorted. "It's only fair." She tugged the magazine from his grasp, ignoring his protests this time, and began leafing through it absently, making little noises of agreement every once in a while.

"May? Very funny May. Give me my magazine," Drew said. He made a grab at the paper in her hand, but she darted back before he could touch it. "Are you pretending to be me? You're not very good at it. I would've let you take the magazine."

"Wow, that's a good tip. Thanks Sally, I'll use that in my next contest," May said, ignoring him.

Drew frowned. There were many things Drew hated. The biggest one was being ignored. As a boy who grew up as the center of attention, not being in the spotlight was a strange feeling. Not the good kind of strange, but the kind of uncomfortable where he wanted to lash out at someone to make people look at him. May was acting different from when he first met her. He bet it was Misty's fault. Misty was the one who told her to fight back, but Ma wasn't supposed to do that! He knew the way things worked. So why was she teasing him? She was a bad, bad fangirl. Why was she making herself stand out? "May, give me my magazine right now! Stop ignoring me!" He snapped. She flashed a sneaky grin in his direction, but didn't look up from that stupid, stupid magazine. He clenched his fists. "May! Are you listening?"

"Huh? What? Oh, Drew, I'm sorry. Did you say something?" She smiled, her eyes finally off that magazine. He took a deep bath. He would stay in control. He would stay calm. He would stay cool. He was emotionless. "You know, Drew, you don't always have to be the center of attention. I don't really feel like listening to you talk anymore, a lot like you did not too long ago. If you'll excuse me, I have a magazine to read.

"May!" Then he did something that he thought may have been a little rash. Perhaps he should've thought the moment through a little more. Perhaps he should've counted backwards from ten. Perhaps he should've done anything other than what he did. Drew was very upset. If May wouldn't choose to pay attention to him, he would make her. Unfortunately, his mind was so clouded with jealously of a stupid magazine that he could only think of one thing to do.

Drew leaped up and tackled May onto the bed. He was on his knees, glaring straight into her eyes as he pinned her shoulders to the soft green sheets. She stared back, heart throbbing in her chest, eyes wide. "Pay attention to me," he growled. May gave a slightly pleased shiver.

As calmly as she could, May squeaked, "You have my complete attention. What did you want to tell me?" She asked. Drew turned his head to the side for a second, then straightened it. "Well, don't you have anything to say to me?"

"How are your eyes so bright?" He asked quietly. "I've never seen a blue like that before."

"I've never seen a boy with green hair before," May said with a light laugh.

"Blue and green go well together," Drew said calmly. "I think it does anyway. I don't think it matters what anyone else says. Do you?" May took a few slow deep breaths to regain control of her voice before answering.

"I like the combination, it's pretty."

"Some people have been saying blue and brown go better together. I really don't like that," Drew whispered. "You won't ignore me anymore, will you May?" May shook her head quietly, smiling. What a weird way to get close to someone.

"We're not talking about colors, are we?" she asked.

"I think you may be right about that." Drew said uncertainly. He began to lean forward when suddenly…

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

The two of them leaped apart blushes staining their faces. Drew began to fiddle with his jacket, pulling it into the too cool to care guy position. May gave her hair a quick fix, completely messed from being pinned to the bed.

_Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"We're coming! We're coming! Could you wait a minute?" Drew snapped. He rushed to the door and threw it open, fully expecting to see Ash, a returning hero from his game, finally beating it after who knew how long of practice. Instead, he found a young girl, red hair short and let loose to dangle around her shoulders. "I'll take a few boxes if that's what you're here for. Who doesn't like Girl Scout cookies?" Drew asked, fishing out his wallet.

"Okay, every time I knock on a door in this town or walk up to someone they think I'm selling cookies," Kay Kay growled. "I'm not selling any freaking cookies! I'm not a Girl Scout! Put away the wallet!" Drew took a step back and tucked the wallet away.

"Sorry. Were you looking for your parents? Aren't you that girl Ash was talking to?"

She snapped her fingers sarcastically. "Snaps for you. You solved the mystery."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm bored," Kay Kay giggled. She peered around Drew to see May standing behind him. The giggling intensified. "Ooh, are you guys on a date? Did I interrupt you two kissing?" She teased. Drew glared and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No, you did not. Go find someone else to play with. Ash is still at the arcade. Goodbye." Drew tried to close the door, only to see a red sneaker jam between the door and it's frame. "Hey, I'm tryin got close the door!"

"Yeah, well, I'm trying to talk to you," the young girl snapped. She shoved open the door and walked on in. She glanced at May. "Hi, I'm Kay Kay. What's your name? I know his name is Drew because Ash said so."

"I'm May," May smiled sweetly. "It's nice to meet you Kay Kay. You shouldn't be walking around town all by yourself you know. Your parents could be worried. There's also a lot of bad people out on the streets. You don't want to be kidnapped. How about you tell me where you live and I'll walk you home? Or you can tell me where your parents are. I'll take you anywhere you want to go." Misty returned the cheery smile.

"My parents are away on business. They're driving up to Viridian City. If you'd like to drive me to Viridian City, I'd be perfectly glad to trust a complete and total stranger to take me there." Kay Kay rolled her eyes. "Brush up on your child safety rules. You're not supposed to go with anyone who's not in a police or fireman uniform. Oh, sorry, have to be politically correct now, fireperson. I'm allowed to go anywhere I want in this town. I can take care of myself just fine." She pulled out a chocolate bar. "For instance, I stole this from a bigger kid who wasn't guarding his pockets. He looked mean, I'm sure he deserved it." She unwrapped it and took a big bite, smiling. "For some reason it always tastes better when you didn't get it the right way. Seriously, though, the bed looks kind of screwed up."

"What does that have to do with anything?" May asked.

"Well, it has to do with the two of you making out on the bed and my virgin child ears," Kay Kay giggled. Growing up in a gym, she wasn't exactly sheltered from the reproductive area. Her parents thought it easiest just to throw in sexual education for humans as well as pokémon when the whole topic came up. That, added with the fact that Misty had three not so innocent older sisters, made sex, love and everything around that area very fun to talk to older kids about.

"We weren't doing anything, thank you very much! We were just reading a magazine," May argued. Misty looked disbelieving.

"Yeah? Where's the magazine?" She argued.

"Well, you think you're so smart, don't you? It's right here!" May said, looking around quickly. The magazine was nowhere to be found. "Wait, where'd it go? It was here a second ago! Dang it," she dropped to her knees besides the bed and peered under, searching desperately for the magazine. As she did, Misty slowly pulled out the very object and showed it to Drew, who nearly doubled over in laughter. "What's so funny?"

Misty tucked the magazine behind her back before May could see. "I dunno. He's just laughing his head off. He must think you searching for the magazine is funny. Maybe he took it. He seems like the kind of guy who would. Does he do mean stuff like that often?" She asked.

"Drew! Why'd you let me make and idiot out of myself?" May snapped. Drew gasped and looked up at May, his laughter cutting short. "Give me back the magazine so she sees that we weren't actually doing anything!"

"What? I don't have it! She has it! Ask her! She took it! She's got it behind her back!" Drew said desperately as May continued to glare at him. She shook her head disapprovingly. "I'm telling the truth! Don't look at me like that!"

"I can't believe you would blame an innocent little girl for something you did. She can't be older than nine!" May gasped.

"I'm seven," Kay Kay piped up helpfully. "I don't steal from nice people."

"See? She's innocent! You should be disappointed in yourself!" May glared.

Kay Kay smiled a cold smile behind him and mouthed "I don't steal, I borrow."

"That's the same thing! You're a witch!" Drew screamed desperately. "May, blame her! She has the freaking magazine!"

"Would you stop blaming the poor girl? What, is it something you have against red heads? You're being mean to this girl just like you were being mean to Misty-" May began, only to be interrupted by the girl sitting on her bed.

"I hate that name!" She shouted.

"What?"

"That name. I hate the name Misty. It…it was my aunt's name." She fumbled for the lie. "She was really annoying. A real girly girl. She would never stop talking or giving us all advice on how to make out lives better."

"Misty is the name of my friend," May explained. "She has red hair too. Funny, she's got the same eyes," May said slowly. "You wouldn't be related to her, would you?"

"I don't think so. My aunt had black hair and brown eyes. I just know that the gym leader's name is Misty. She's pretty good. I bet it's real hard to get badges from Cerulean," She said, showing pride in her city. "Our football team rocks too. Where are you guys from?"

"Another region entirely," Drew sighed. "I'm wishing I was there right now, actually. You're starting to get on my nerves. Could you please go annoy Ash for a while? I wanted some peace and quiet around here."

"Might as well go. The fun's over,' Kay Kay shrugged casually. She bounced off the bed and towards the door.

BAM!

Ash slammed the door open and raced into the room, Pikachu right next to him, both of them doing a little happy dance. "I won! I won! I beat the expert level! I'm a rock star! I'm a rock star! I'm better than all over you combined!"

"Ash, you're retarded, do you know that," Drew muttered, gritting his teeth. "We found this, could you take it somewhere?" Drew asked Ash, interrupting his happy dance.

"We can't, we've got to go see Misty," Ash said. He looked at Kay Kay. "Hey, it's you!"

"Hey, Ash," She said cheerfully. "Are you going to the Cerulean gym?"

"Uh-huh. The Cerulean Gym. Would you like to come and see it? I've heard from Misty that the gym doesn't get many visitors when they're not having a show. I'm sure she wouldn't mind you visiting, she loves kids."

"I love pokémon! There will be lots and lots of water pokémon there, right?" Kay Kay asked, trying to make it believable. Ash grinned and nodded. "I'd love to go! But…You swear she won't mind me being there? I don't want to interrupt anything, like I did with May and Drew."

"What, were they making out again?" Ash teased.

"Hey!" They snapped.

"Yup!" She giggled.

"Don't worry. You won't interrupt anything. You can walk around the gym all by yourself, just be careful around the gyrados. He's usually cranky and we wouldn't want you to drown in the pool. Misty's already come close to that a few times."

"I heard about that in the news!" She said, making her eyes wide. "Let's go! Let's go! I've got a big surprise though when we get there, and it's got lots to do with Misty!" She snagged Ash's wrist and tugged him out the door. "Hurry! We can't be slow!"

"Okay! Alright!" Ahs laughed, letting himself be dragged away.

"So much for peace and quiet," Drew groaned.

"Aw, you know you love it. You would've left long before now if you didn't."

"Sure I do," He said sarcastically. Nevertheless, they strode out the door, very close together.

* * *

They stood in front of the gym, Kay Kay blocking the doors. "Kay Kay! What are you doing? Move out of the way! We want to go see Misty!" Ash complained. Kay Kay held up one finger and took a deep breath.

"Okay, it's tie for the surprise. Unown A!" She called loudly. The creature was by her side in a second, shocked at seeing the girl's old friends. "This is Unown A. I can hear her in my head. I found her in a box in the attic when we were cleaning. She came up with a really fun prank. The prank was that we pretend that I was a little kid and none of you would now who I was and not one of you did! Not a single one!"

"Kay Kay, what are you talking about?"

"I'm not just some random little girl," she explained. "I'm Misty, only littler."

"Really? That's believable. The Unown trick people into believing things that aren't real. Like being someone you're not, or taking someone's mother and thinking they're yours." Ash rolled his eyes. He glared. "I know what the Unown do. You shouldn't be hanging out with them."

"But I am Misty!" She whined.

"Really? Prove it!" he retorted.

"Every Halloween it's been our tradition to watch the Nightmare Before Christmas together, but last year you couldn't. So we called each other, each put on the movie and watched it together even though we couldn't actually be in the same room, because we were scared it'd bring us bad luck and no candy for Halloween," She smiled. "And you said if you didn't watch it we'd actually get razors in our candy."

Ash swallowed, his heart sinking to his stomach. Not again, why would they do this to him again. "Oh, Misty," he whispered. "Why'd they have to go after you?"

* * *

Will Ash cry? Maybe, he's a pansy! Will Drew care? Who knows? Will May care? Um...I dunno. Do I actually have a plotline for this? Hell yeah! Do I have every little detail set and ready to go? Er...uh, sure?

Roses are red, violets are blue, I wrote a damn poem, now write a review!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, what's up? What? What? No, I can't hear you. If you want to answer, you're going to have to review. Sorry. It's actually a simple process. See, you click this button at the bottom of the screen and then you start typing. Interesting, no? Try it out! It's lots o' fun!

Reviewing Tip One: Listening to hard rock while reviewing makes you sound like a total be-atch.

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Ash was seething in his corner, desperately trying to cool himself down. In, two, three, four, five, six, seven; hold two, three, four, five, six, seven; out, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Slow controlled breaths. The Unown. Those stupid, stupid things! First they went and stole his _mother_ from him. Then, they went and tried to kill him. He didn't really mind that part. Lots of people tried to kill him, it wasn't unusual. No one, _no one_ had ever gone after _Misty _before. They never touched her. She was a sidekick, unimportant. Why would they go after her? His fingers dug deep into the couch as one of them floated in. "Good for nothing son of a…"

"Ash!" May scolded. Ash looked up sharply, yanked out of his thoughts. "Could you control your language, Ketchum?"

"Yeah, not a problem," He muttered. "I can control my language just fine. Why would I want to swear? It's not like that same things that stole my mother a few years ago have just stolen my best friend. Oh wait a second, silly me!" He snarled. "They're horrible, May. Yeah, they grant wishes. It's not the best thing in the world. They don't want you to have a good life, they want to screw with you!"

"Ash, don't be an idiot," Drew scoffed. "From what Kay Kay's told us they had to do what they did because of that little girl they were working for. They didn't want to steal your mom, Ash. Stop overreacting to everything."

"Kay Kay?" He cried. "Her name _isn't _Kay Kay! She's Misty! What are you freaking talking about? Do you see what they've done? Do you? They turned her into a little kid! That's not helpful or normal! That's destructive!"

"Misty said she wanted to. It was a prank."

"Yeah, sure it was. Mind telling me who thought of that prank?" Ash growled.

"Misty?" May asked uncertainly.

"No! She said in her story that the Unown asked her to! It as all Unown A's idea! She wants her like that so she can go about and do her evil things! She's probably plotting to take over the world or something!" Ash said. The two of them looked at each other, then began to laugh.

"Ash, you come up with a lot of crazy stories, but this time you're going a bit too far."

"I'm not pretending!" Ash snapped. "Pikachu will back me up! Won't you Pikachu? Pikachu?" Ash looked around frantically. "Oh my God! They stole Pikachu! You bastards!" He shouted, collapsing forward into the sofa.

"Is it me, or did Ash just quote South Park?" Drew whispered to May. "I've never seen the show, and even I know the line 'Oh my God, they killed Kenny, you bastards'." May nodded mutely, never having seen the show either.

Ash's head popped up from the sofa. "Did I just make a South Park pun?"

"Yes," They said together.

"It's worse than I thought! This is all their fault! Can't you see it? I'm the hero! I know what I'm talking about! The hero always knows what he's talking about!" He ranted. "I know that…Hey, Kay Kay. How are you?"

Kay Kay strode through the door in her bathing suit, hair soaked and dripping on the floor. Unown A floated distantly behind her, eyeing them all carefully. "Hey, Ash. Do you guys have bathing suits? We can swim in the pool if you like."

"Bathing suits? Uh, no. We don't," Ash said, formulating a plan. It wasn't exactly brilliant plan, but it was clever, he guessed. "We should go back to the hotel to grab our stuff. May, Drew, you guys don't have your stuff on you either, right?" He said. '_Please oh please let them get it! Even I could've picked up on that hint!'_ He thought desperately. May and Drew stared at him like he was going insane, but agreed anyway.

"You don't need to worry about that!" Kay Kay smiled. The trio's eyes widened as their clothes vanished, only to be replaced with bathing suits. (A/n: During which there was an awkward five minutes of naked silence. Heh heh, joking everyone, joking. Their clothes automatically switched with bathing suits, keep up!) "See? Ever since I shrunk I don't even need to concentrate! I just want something to happen and it does! Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah," Ash deadpanned, glaring pointedly at Drew and May. "Real cool."

"Aren't you guys coming?" Kay Kay asked. She narrowed her eyes, "I did get you all bathing suits, so you better be coming."

"I'm coming," Ash said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. She may have been tiny, but she was still the same old Misty. The very same attitude, the same tone of voice, and the same kind of authority over him that almost made Ash jump to attention. He ruffled her hair, making her growl in frustration, and walked out the door. She chased after him, giggling, and Unown A followed in her silent matter as well.

"You think Ash has a point?" May whispered to Drew. "You don't really think, you know, that the Unown are planning anything, do you?" Drew sighed and took a moment to carefully think over his answer. "Drew? Are you going to answer me?"

"I was thinking," He rolled his eyes. "Some of us like to do that."

"Hey!"

"I don't know if Ash is right or not, but I really don't care right now. All I know is that I can't find my pants, shirt, or underwear anywhere in this room, and I'm starting to wonder where they went. My pokéballs were in those pants!" Drew exclaimed.

May giggled for a second, then froze. "My fanny pack! My pokémon were in there too! And Ash's pokémon…where is Pikachu?" She gasped. "You don't think that Unown A planned that too, do you?" She asked with a shiver.

"I'm sure she didn't," Drew said, not sounding all that sure.

_Oh, don't worry. All your pokémon are safe and sound in that corner over there. Kay Kay gets excited and forgets little details. I take care of them for her. _Unown A smiled, a glint in her eyes, ahem, eye that made them both shiver. (A/N: Once again, I can't figure out how she would smile, but she did) _Why don't you go hang out in the pool, hmm? Ash and Kay Kay are playing and having swimming races down there. Why don't you see how you two place? I'm sure you're both strong swimmers._

"We'll do that," Drew said, faking a smile. He grabbed May's arm and tugged her from the room. Once safely out of hearing range, he leaned close to whisper in her ear, "We need to get the hell out of here."

**

* * *

**

Ash floated quietly in the pool, running a hand through his hair. Misty, Drew and May were all captivated by the projector (newly installed, thanks to a wish from the shortest member of the group) playing 'The Lion King' of all movies. He wasn't exactly sure if they had figured out the situation they were in. May had spent a while giggling with Misty, both of them changing their bathing suits to their liking until Drew and him had gotten so fed up they soaked them through with the help of a few water pokémon.

"I'm sleepy," Kay Kay murmured, her head popping up next to Ash's. She treaded water weakly and yawned. "What time is it? I'm not going to bed before my bed time! Daisy would just love that! Come to think of it, Daisy's been in her room all day. She only came down once or twice to smear peanut butter on scrambled eggs with some relish on the side." Ash made a face. Kay Kay's head slipped underwater, then popped back up again. "Really, what time is it, Ash?"

"I don't know, Misty" he said. "I don't have a clock." He took her hand and swam her to the side of the pool, lifting her out before jumping out himself. "I'll be right back, we're going to check to see if it's Kay Kay's bed time." He called to May and Drew. They nodded. Kay Kay wrapped her arms around his waist and pushed her face into his stomach with a yawn. "Up we go," He said, picking her up and carrying her out of the room.

"I'm not really, really sleepy. I'm just kind of sleepy," Kay Kay explained to Ash. "I'm only going to bed if it's eight thirty."

"Well," he said, walking into the kitchen and looking at the clock on the microwave. The green numbers burned his eyes in the dark. "It's ten o' clock. Way past your bedtime, Mist." He said with a smile. She nodded and dropped her head into his shoulder, clinging her arms tightly around his neck. "Let's go to bed."

"The nickname Mist isn't so bad," Kay Kay whispered. "Don't call me Misty though. You keep doing that. You've been doing that _all _day. I hate the name Misty. It's a big kid name."

"Alright," he said with a sigh. "You do know you're really a grown up still. Right, Mist?" There was no response. "Mist? Misty? Misty? Kay Kay?" He looked at her carefully, then gave a light laugh. "Already asleep. Guess it can't be helped." He carried her up the stairs, knocking open the door when he reached it. Ash dropped her on the bed and tucked her in, pausing for a moment to kiss her forehead. "I'm going to get you back," he promised, "She can't take you too."

_Maybe you should've thought of that before you left her all alone at the gym. _Unown A's voice hissed in his mind. Ash looked up slowly from Misty, breath catching.

"Wait, Misty said you couldn't talk to anyone but her," Ash whispered. "How do you…can you talk to everyone now?" Ash said. He slowly shifted on the bed so his body was between Unown A and Kay Kay, his body automatically bracing for some kind of attack.

_When I first came out I couldn't speak to anyone but the wish granter herself. Then, once she makes more wishes and I get a bit more power…_she chuckled, _well, things just start getting easier and easier. Do you really think that you can defend her, boy? Your body the only defense to a psychic pokémon. You obviously don't remember your encounter with Sabrina._

"How do you know about that?" Ash gasped.

_Kay Kay told me. She just loved telling me all about her. I just sat and listened to those sweet, sweet stories. She seemed particularly found of those stories about you. You shouldn't have let her go, Ash. She didn't want to leave. She was so, so sad when she did. All she really wanted was someone to lean on. Nobody likes being all alone. It's a good thing I was here. I'm just such a great parental figure to her. I'll fix the heart you broke, _Unown A smiled, going closer to Ash. He shifted again, keeping his body between the two. _Ash, you don't seem to understand. Kay Kay has given me free rein to do anything I think would be in her best interests. _The boy was slowly lifted into the air, grunting and trying to break the psychic hold. _I really don't think you should stick around here anymore. You're just going to hurt her feelings if you two are left all alone together._ She let him fly, skidding into the hallway with a strangely quiet thunk.

"You son of a bitch," he snarled, finding the positions reversed. Now she was between him and his best friend. It was such a protective position. She had no right to be there. "What the hell are you planning? Take someone else for your plan. You don't need her like…" He trailed off.

_Like you do? _She inquired sweetly._ Oh, but I do. She's quite an original specimen. You go off and have some fun, Ketchum. Don't try leaving the doors are barred, as our the windows. Your pokémon are safely stored with the other two Waterflowers. No need to worry about clothes, All you have to do is ask an Unown and they'll get some for you. Now, get out of here. I'll guard her tonight, make sure nobody comes in to tell her lies about her being all grown up. I'll keep her safe from anything and everything you can't._

"You won't get away with this," Ash growled. "I'll tell everyone. I'm telling May and Drew and Daisy and we're not going to let you take her. You can't win," he growled.

_Oh, but Mr. Pokémon Master, you don't seem to understand, _she gave a cold laugh. _Misty has been stripped of all thoughts of adulthood. In fact, I wouldn't be surprise if tomorrow morning she's forgotten all those silly little memories of traveling with you. In fact, she's probably not going to remember anything after her parent's death. Wouldn't it be funny if she even forgot what you were doing here? You know what would be priceless? _She asked. Ash ground his teeth into one another, his fists opening and closing. _What if she forgot you?_

"She won't forget me," Ash said. "She wouldn't…she can't forget me! You're insane!" he shouted.

"Mama?" Kay Kay gasped, sitting up in bed. She looked around frantically. "Where's Mom?"

_Calm down, Kay Kay. Go back to sleep, everything's fine. _Unown A watched the child close her eyes and fall back to sleep, the cold laugh echoing in his mind. _Uh oh, Ketchum. I think that's check mate right there! _So he ran from the room, hands slammed over his ears. It didn't help. No, it wasn't Unown A's laugh he heard, or that taunting checkmate line.

'_Mama? Where's Mom!'_

He threw open the door to Daisy's room and slid in next to her, shaking her up. "Daisy! Daisy, get up!"

"Like, Ash?" Daisy asked, looking up and rubbing her tired eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"They got Misty!"

"Like, what?"

"The Unown got Misty!" He hissed. "They took her! They brainwashed her into thinking she's seven and they want to take over the world. Daisy! Daisy, you have to help me! I don't know if May and Drew will believe me. I tried to tell them earlier but they thought I was crazy then and they'll probably think I'm crazy now and…ugh! Do you believe me?"

Daisy looked up with a dazed, confused expression on her face. "Ash, it's all part of a prank. Misty thought it'd be, like, funny. She and Unown A, like, thought over this plan Unown A, like, cam eup with and they, like, decided that'd it be funny."

"No! She's really…forget it. You'll find it all out in the morning," Ash grunted. "I'll be on the couch since I can't leave the freaking house." He stormed out of the room, swearing profusely and trying to hold back the sickening feeling, making him want to throw up and scream and cry all at the same time. No one believed him. No one could help him. He had no way out. He had no pokémon to make a way out. His cell phone may have been in his clothes, but the battery was dead and the charger was back in Pallet. He used Pikachu to charge his cell.

Misty was gone. Pikachu was gone. Everyone thought he was insane.

He crashed on the couch without brothering to change out of his wet swim trunks. He never had to worry about anyone but himself before. Is that why he felt so afraid?

* * *

"Drew," May whispered, pulling herself out of the pool. She sat next to him on the edge their feet dangling in the water. "I know that you don't really like me all that much. I mean, we're sort of friends but…I know you don't like getting too close to people."

"Not really," Drew sighed. He glanced at her. Her eyes cast down to her lap. Her hands were fidgeting there nervously. Her toes clenched and unclenched under the water. Drew rolled his eyes. What now? A confession of undying love from the girl? "May, what did you want to say?"

"Drew, I…" She took a deep breath.

Then she was shaking, and Drew was completely confused. One of her nervous hands darted to her face, covering her mouth. A strangled sound burst from the back of her throat, and then she was _crying. _He stiffened. May was _crying? _How did you deal with a crying girl? Teasing her wouldn't help. He'd heard from his older sister that teasing could make people cry. Joking…ugh, he didn't know any joke. She'd probably call him insensitive or something. He was sorely tempted to ask if there was something wrong or was it just PMS? Something told him that would be the wrong thing to do. So what could he do? Suicune, no one had ever cried in front of him before!

"Drew, I'm scared," She said before breaking down completely. "You saw what happened on the news a few years ago. And the way, the way that thing looked at me…she looked like she wanted to kill me," She pulled her knees to her chest, curled her arm around them, and burst into sobs.

"I, uh…" Drew shifted in his seat. "I'm sure she didn't want to kill us. She was just, er…" What a lie. He was cynical. All he wanted to tell her was that yes, they were both going to die. They were going to be killed by Unown A. Then again, he knew that would make her cry even more than before. He wasn't heartless. He wouldn't say he loved her and lead her away to a magical night of passion, but he didn't want to make the situation worse. "May you…May, you should go find Ash. He's better at this comfort stuff than I am. This just is weird for me. I can't help you out here. I, er," He shifted uncomfortably again when she grabbed his hand.

"Put your arm around my shoulders," May said quietly through her sobs.

"What?"

"You want to help, don't you? Put your arm around my shoulders," she explained. He swallowed nervously and did as she asked, letting his arm rest against her bare skin. It was weird. He didn't touch people often but…were people normally so cold? No, that was the water. People were usually warm, right? "Relax, you're doing fine. I just need to know that someone is with me right now. That someone can take care of me."

"I don't take good care of things," Drew admitted. "Last time I tried to take care of my mom's plants I forgot to water them. Every single one died. My mom was so mad when she came back she made me work at the flower shop to pay for a new batch.

May giggled a light laugh that sounded awfully bitter to Drew's ears.

Drew stiffened in surprise and considered moving away. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she smiled. "You did good. That really helped. Do you have any other stories about yourself?" May scooted close to him and felt his body stiffen even more. "What's wrong, Drew?"

"Nothing" He said quickly. This was weird. One second the girl was crying, the next she's smiling. On top of it, she was close to him. She was touching him. Nobody touched him. He was…beyond being touched. Drew was the boy the fangirls flocked over. They would send him love letters, proclaim that he was their soon to be husband. They'd tug at his shirt and hold out autograph books, but never, ever, had a girl ever had the nerve to touch him in a friendly way. A few times, yes, there had been handshakes. Those tended to hurt because they were after some battle or contest the other had lost, and the girl used her nails. "Do you feel better now?"

"A bit."

"Is there anything else I could do?" Drew asked. May flushed. Drew blinked. Why was she embarrassed? Girls were too moody. He didn't understand them. Weird things. "Really, I want to help. What else can I do?"

"A little sympathy would help," May suggested.

"I'm scared too," Drew sympathized immediately. "Ash might think of something…who am I kidding? May, we've got to get out of here. Let's find Ash and see if he can help. Get your clothes on, fast." He leaped up from his spot and was about to run away when May snagged his arm. "Damn it, May! We don't have all night! We should move!"

"Drew, we need to get to Ash before anything," May told him. She stood. "He's always the one to turn to when this happens. Ash always has some kind of a plan to get us out of trouble. If nothing else, he knows Misty better than all of us combined.

Drew glanced down at the wrist she grabbed, gritting his teeth. "I guess I know that already. May, I've never done this before. I'm sorry I can't help you but-"

"It's fine," May shook her head. "If you were good at everything, I think I'd hate you. Besides, you could stand a bit of competition to shrink that big head of yours. Ash should be a good rival for _that_. Just look what he did to Gary!"

Drew blinked, completely baffeled. "Who's Gary?"

"This is going to be a fun night," May sighed, dragging him off and wondering if all boys had the capacity to be this incredibly stupid at the very moment you needed them to get a brain. Ugh, it was no wonder Misty would rather be Kay Kay. She wouldn't mind being Maylin again. (A/N: Heh heh, I got my own creative names for the characters, beat that! Maylin is Chinese too! Okay, yeah, not Japanese but that's pretty close! …Geographically) That reminded her. "Hey, Drew. What's your real name?"

"Jennifer Lopez" He deadpanned.

"No, I mean your full name. I don't know your last name."

"Williams. Guess what my first name is? William. I'm William Shuu Williams," Drew said, groaning as she began to giggle. "Next time you're depressed, how about you think of that instead of trying to teach me to console you?"

* * *

"Ash! Ash, you have to get up!" May gasped, kneeling by the boy and shaking him. He groaned and shoved her away, causing her to land on her butt. "You little…son of a…Ash! Ashton! You get up! We need help and we need it now!" Ash groaned again and buried his head in the pillow. "Drew's full name is William Shuu Williams," May said sweetly. Nothing. "I read Misty's diary and she has a huge crush on you!" Still nothing. May glared. She leaned close and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to stay here, Ash. I'm going to stay here until you fall asleep. Then I'm going to grab a tape recorder and ask you questions while you sleep, and we all know how good at keeping secrets while you sleep. You never talk about a certain redhead in your dreams, do you? Oh, no. You never have any kind of grown up dreams about her."

"I'm up," Ahs said, his eyes flying open and head popping up.

"Ash! Unown A is-"

"Planning world domination," Ash muttered flopping back into the couch. "No shit, Sherlock. How long did it take you guys to figure that one out? I freaking told you, but did you believe me? No. You didn't. Now you can suffer."

"Ash, don't you think we should get out of here? I think Unown A wants to kill us!" May said frantically. Ash raised a drowsy head.

"We're trapped. Go to sleep. We'll figure something out in the morning," Ash yawned.

"Ash! You're supposed to be a hero!" She snapped.

"Says?"

"The internet."

"The internet also says you're a double U, H, O, R, E," Ash grinned. "You shouldn't believe everything you read, Miss Williams. Which, ironically, can be found in any coordinating magazine. If you actually bothered to read, like I do sometimes, you'd know that. However, the William Shuu was a fun fact. I think I'm going to call you that from now on, William," Ash giggled.

"Thanks a lot May," Drew deadpanned.

May rolled her eyes "Doesn't matter. There's a reason none of the girls Ash travels with keeps a diary. Ash can pick locks. Not only that, but he can find out a lot of stuff about someone from the internet." She frowned at him. "Don't look so innocent, everybody knows what you do."

"Misty's the one who taught me, y'know," Ash said serenely. "She was good at that," Ahs frowned. "And know she's gone thanks to the evil creatures. We're all going to rot in hell and it's all your fault May! If it wasn't for you, I'd be eating Ramen noodles and watching anime right now!"

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" Drew asked.

"It's a very long and complicated story involving a motorcycle, spaghetti, and a French assassin named Pierre who likes to crossdress on weekends at a strip club along the Euphrates river called "El Ranchero" while her, yes her, identical twin brother, Ivan, makes love to a German girl named Eleanor," Ash said in a factual tone.

"There were so many cultural errors in the one statement I feel the urge to kill myself," Drew said, eyes wide.

"Oh well," Ash shrugged. "You guys should find somewhere comfortable to sleep. We're not getting out of here any time soon."

"Ash!" May cried desperately. "How can you do this? I know you want to save Misty, I think it's really sweet and all, but we can't help her if we don't get out of this hell hole, pardon my language," she said with a flush.

"It's got nothing to do with Misty, May. It's the fact that Unown A won't let us leave. The doors and windows are probably nailed shut by now. Maybe you'll get an electric shock if you try and touch one. That'd be exciting. Just give up on the escape plan for now."

"Damn it, Ash! Have you even tried?" Drew snarled, storming out of the room. May slowly turned to Ash with a questioning look.

"What?"

"Have you?"

"You know what," Ash said slowly, "the thought never even crossed my mind. Maybe we'll get lucky and William Shuu can find us a way out." He snorted with laughter. "Lucky, that's a good one. See you in the morning, May." He gave a quick tug on her ear, making her squeal with outrage, then cuddled back into the couch. All of them had not bothered to notice that their clothes had long since changed, and they were in their typical day outfit.

It wasn't long before Drew came back, panting and sweating. He slumped next to May, who had wished herself up a sleeping bag. "May where the hell did you get that sleeping bag?" He gasped. May scowled. "Hell isn't a swear word, May."

"It counts!" She protested. She sat up, her hair undone and flowing just passed her shoulders. "I got the sleeping bag from the Unown. I wished it up. They can be helpful things, at least the stupid ones that keep crashing into walls."

"You can wish for things from the Unown?" Drew asked excitedly.

"Don't get your hopes up. I've already asked to be let out, to have super strength to break through walls, and all other methods of escape. It kept saying 'can't do that' and then asked if I'd like a sleeping bag. I said yes. Then I wished up a comforter for Ash. Kay Kay must have wished for us to be happy or something."

"If she wanted us happy she'd let us go," Drew snarled.

"Drew, she's a kid," May argued.

"She's a teenager! Ash said so himself! We came to see a kid a few months older than Ash!"

"Yeah, well, she's not exactly in her right mind right now," May snapped. "She's under an influence."

"I know, but…this is getting frustrating," Drew scowled. "Where can I find an Unown to get a sleeping bag?" May pointed to a spot not too far from her where she had laid out a bed for him. "Oh, uh, thanks, May."

"Welcome," She grinned.

"I stay wake, trying to see if you guys start making out or something when the lights go out, but no, all I get is some sentimental friedship budding fluff. That's not going to make the DAML fans happy. I'm a contestshipper, and I think that you two should give the fans what they want and kiss. Go ahead, I won't look much when it gets down and dirty," He giggled. May whacked him with a pillow of her own, giggling as well. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being a sinner! Swearing and sex without marriage! Didn't your mother teach you the bible?"

"I'm Jewish."

"You celebrate Christmas and you know it!" She whacked him again. "You're such a boy!"

"At least I look like my gender! Unlike some…hold on," Ash rolled out of bed quietly. "You guys go to sleep. I thought I heard something. I'll check it out and come back to my bed too. No making out while I'm gone."

"Well that just ruins all our fun," Drew smirked. May flushed and scolded him, sorely tempted to give him a whack with the pillow.

So Ash went off on his exciting two minute journey to the pool, involving much tripping, pain, and words May would definitely not have approved of. When he finally did get to said pool, he was mildly surprised by what he found, and extremely worried. (A/N: I dropped a freaking hint to this, it's called foreshadowing. You better figure out what he's seeing or I'm going to hate you. Go ahead, stop and think for a while. I can wait.)

"Misty! What are you doing? Get off the diving board!" Ash barked. Kay Kay jumped, almost falling off the board in the process and looked down at the irate boy before her. "What are you doing up there? That's not safe!"

"Why not?" She asked.

"Oh, gee, I don't know. How about you fall off and drown yourself. Does that sound safe to you?"

"The water pokémon would get me out. They love me," she beamed.

"Misty, er, kay Kay," he corrected himself at her furious glance. "What are you doing up there? You should be in your bed. DO you want a nightlight or something? That'll scare away the ghosts and the ghastlies, won't it?" he encouraged.

"Nightlights are for babies," Kay Kay snapped.

"No they're not. They're for kids your age who need some light before they go to sleep to keep the bad things away."

"Babies are afraid of the dark and big kids sleep in Candberry Park!" Kay Kay chimed.

"Don't do that! I hated those little kid rhymes! Candberry Park isn't even real, Kay Kay! It's all a lie! Leading scholars say it was because during the middle ages they wouldn't want their children to go out after dark because of the assassins hanging around."

"Candberry Park is real!" Kay Kay shouted. "It is it is! Just like the Tooth Fairy and Santa and all of them!"

"I'm not going to argue with you," Ahs said. "Just come on down and I'll take you back up to bed." The young girl shook her head wildly. "What do you want from me?" He snapped. "I'll get you a glass of water, read you a bedtime story…" she continued to shake her head. "What can I do to get you in your bed?" He crossed his arms. "I thought you were fine with Unown A there."

"Bug types are impervious to psychic attacks," Kay Kay whispered. "At least, the kind that live under my bed do. They're evil! They wait for me to fall asleep and then they suck out my blood and save the rest of me for their babies to eat!"

"And people said I have a wild imagination," Ash grumbled. "I'll tell you what. You can sleep with me, May and Drew tonight. How does that sound?"

"Like I'm not tired yet," She giggled, climbing down the ladder nevertheless. "I want to go to the arcade, do you think that it's still open?" She asked. Ash would've loved to say yes, maybe get out of the building, but he knew as well as she did that the arcade was closed. Knowing her, she probably had the time schedule memorized. "Maybe the library, or maybe the atrology lab is open again. Do you think the mall has shut down? If not, there's got to be at least one store open."

"You know we cant to any of that," Ash rolled his eyes. "What do you really want?"

"I want to hear a scary story," Kay Kay squealed. She raced off to the living room, where the rest of them had crashed, with Ash following close behind. "it can be about Candberry Park or about vampires or ninjas or werewolves or cannibals but not bugs or else I'll be so scared I'll scream," she said, jumping onto the sofa and bouncing up and down.

"That's my bed. You can wish for your own," Ash moaned.

_I agree with Ash, Kay Kay. You should wish for your own bed. I promise you I can keep the house bug free, _Unown A said sweetly.

"Yay, the gang's all here," Drew muttered sarcastically. "Nothing I love more than a psycho killer watching over me as I sleep."

_What was that?_

"Speech: communication using sounds that symbolize objects, verbs, adjectives, and so on," Drew said calmly. "These sounds are often fused into one category we like to call language, which is later butchered by technology."

_Very cute, _she rumbled.

"Aren't I?"

_Kay Kay, please, be reasonable. Wish for a bed and you can sleep with all the humans down here, nice and comfortable. I'll be here to watch you too. Do you really need to sleep with someone else? It's not really proper for a girl your age._

"No! If I'm all alone the bugs will get me no matter where I am! Besides, Ash and I won't do anything! We're best friends! He can keep me safe!" She grabbed his arm and looked up with big blue-green eyes. She looked at him with that sweet, innocent, cute little girl face and asked, "You'll protect me, won't you Ash?"

Ash felt the color rise to his face as Drew sniggered, "Oh, won't you, Ash?"

"Alright, _alright_," May glared. "Let's take care of the situation. Kay Kay, Ash, get settled," They curled up on the couch together, prompting more snickering from Drew. "You get settled to," she glared. He blushed and made himself comfortable in his sleeping bag. "Now, a bedtime story."

"No, scary story!" Kay Kay protested.

"You'll never get to sleep if I tell you one of those," May scolded.

_Let Kay Kay have whatever she wants, _Unown A snapped. _It's her house, isn't it? She should have the choice on what she gets to hear. She wants to have fun, not go to sleep. Isn't that right, Kay Kay? You don't want to listen to this._

"If you don't get to sleep now you won't wake up tomorrow and then we won't have any time to play," May argued. She was very skillful at getting restless children to bed. Years of babysitting for an excitable younger brother had taught her that.

"Okay, okay! Bedtime story!" Kay Kay agreed.

"I thought so," she smiled. So May began an old Hoenn folk tale. Drew, having heard it many times as he grew up, fell asleep within seconds. Misty, being the Kanto native that she was (and only being in Hoenn fleetingly) had never heard the story, and was enthralled in the tale. But it only took half a story for her to fall asleep, curled in Ash's arms. Ash, on the other hand, managed to stay awake until the end, though he was practically asleep.

"Did they live happily ever after?" He asked, his eyes closing when he yawned.

"Yeah, they lived happily ever after," May smiled. Ash drifted off then, May soon following. She didn't complain though. She loved being a surrogate mother.

* * *

Ooooh! Lookie, I updated FAST! You all know this just proves I have way too much time on my hands, right? This chapter sucked. I hated it.  
WHAT TO LOOK FORWARD TOO:  
Misty's mental state, thought it couldn't get any worse, but it can. Meanwhile, Ash is starting to feel a little bit childish himself, maybe because of a certain redhead crush? Finally, Drew manages to break through to the outside world, but is anyone crazy enough to believe him?

I leave you with this:

AND WHAT'S THE WORST THAT I COULD SAY? THINGS ARE BETTER IF I STAY. SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT, SO LONG AND GOODNIGHT. –My Chemical Romance


	7. Chapter 7

Here I am again. A special shout out to everyone out there, thanks for reviewing! Each chapter is getting longer and longer, holy moly! They're going to be over twenty pages if I keep this up!  
P.S.  
I lied about last chapter's preview. It was getting too long, and I needed to break it off somewhere. It seemed like the right point to cut it off.

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Drew was the first to awaken. He'd always been a light sleeper, and the mammoth of a woman tottering down the stairs wasn't the easiest sound to ignore. Trying his best not to wake anyone up, he crept silently out of his sleeping bag and into the kitchen. Daisy was quietly (but very quickly) shoving a box of cereal down her throat. Drew was shocked and disgusted at the same time. He took a moment to avert his gaze and sweep his eyes around the kitchen. A light colored wooden table was in one corner, along the wall lay the stove, refrigerator, microwave, and other such things, and he casually lay on a countertop, an island in the middle of the kitchen. "You're…one of Misty's sisters," he finished lamely. "What's your name?"

"Daisy," She said. "And, like, don't look at me like that! I'm, like, pregnant. I can eat whatever I want, like, whenever I want." She turned the refrigerator and yanked it open, looking up and down. "F---, the whipped cream is on the bottom!" She swore.

Drew sighed and got up to help her. No need to be mean to a pregnant woman. Especially if said pregnant woman looked like she could squish him with one finger. "How are you so calm about the Unown taking over?" He asked, "I mean I know you and your sister aren't exactly close from the story Kay, uh, Misty's told…"

"First off, it's not my fault she was dumb enough to believe there was candy at the bottom of the well. I was little, I thought it was funny," Daisy snapped. "Next, my sister is playing a prank on you. She's not a kid. It's a prank."

"…" Drew opened his mouth, sighed, and closed it again with a shake. Smart comebacks could be used on May. Do not insult the prego. Do not insult the prego. "Daisy, there may be more going on here than you think."

"Yeah, well, if I, like, keep getting diapers for the babies I'm totally happy," Daisy shrugged. "Those things could be plotting to take over the world for all I care."

"There's more than one in there, that makes sense," Drew smirked.

"Dih…did you just call me fat?" Daisy whimpered, her face beginning to contort. "I do look fat! I knew I would! Misty lied! I'm a fat miltank! I knew it!" She shrieked, racing out of the room, only stopping to snatch the whipped cream from Drew's hand.

_Well, _Drew thought to himself, _she's not exactly racing. She's doing something along the lines of…swiftly waddling? Sure, swiftly waddling, that sounds good. _He glanced at the ransacked kitchen and couldn't help but notice a squirt bottle of chocolate syrup._ It's not like anyone will know if I take a quick sip. _He put the bottle to his lips and threw his head back for a quick drink. It would just be a small sip, he promised himself…

He was emptying the last drop from the bottle when Ash and Kay Kay walked in. "Hey, what are you doing!" Kay Kay cried, her eyes opening wide with horror. "You can't do that! I'm not allowed to do that!"

"What?" Drew said, yanking the bottle away. "I wasn't doing anything," he said coolly.

"I hope you got to hell for lying," Kay Kay retorted, glaring at the empty bottle. "Now what am I going to put on my chocolate fudge ice cream? Strawberries? Who in their right mind wants that? Hey, maybe I can have whipped cream!" She redirected her glare at him. "Or did you eat that too?"

"Your monster pregnant sister came down and ate it all," Drew shot back. "I don't even like whipped cream."

"My sister isn't pregnant and she oculdn't have eaten that because she's always on a diet!" Kay Kay hissed. "I told you, you're going to hell for lying. Really, I can't wait for that to happen. You'll meet Hitler there and he'll hurt you because you don't have blonde hair and blue eyes! Have fun in the gas chambers!"

"The torture my people went through," Ash said sadly. "If us Jews believed in hell, oh, you'd better believe Hitler would be there."

"Ash, shut up. You're not Jewish."

"I want to be," he crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down at Kay Kay. "Alright, what do you want for breakfast, Mist?"

"I'm not Misty, I'm Kay Kay," She corrected idly, obviously too used to the nickname to really care anymore. "What can you make? Waffles, pancakes, croissants, crepes," She asked. "What?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion. Ash looked at her, eyes wide as it dawned on him that he had to cook. Sure, Misty had never been anywhere near Brock's level, but she knew how to boil water. Something, in fact, she picked up on from Brock. When she was eleven. Now she couldn't remember how to cook, and Ash, quite frankly, was thoroughly screwed. He had no idea how to cook! What did he look like, Emril?

"Wouldn't you like Chocolate Puffs instead? Some kind of breakfast cereal?" He asked.

"I hate breakfast cereal. I like warm stuff," She beamed. Ash groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. "What? Dontchya know how to cook, Ketchum?"

"I…I'm gonna go talk to May for a minute," Ash said, running to his female companion screaming "do you know how to cook?"

Meanwhile, Drew turned to her with indifference and sighed. "I know how to cook. What would you like for breakfast? No nuts, please. I hate nuts." Kay Kay tapped her chin for a minute. "Okay, kid, I don't have all day. Hurry up and think of something."

"Could I have peanut butter waffles?" She asked cutely.

"Very funny," he rolled his eyes, a twitch of a smile on his face. He did like kids. "Now, seriously, what do you want? I make a great omelet," he suggested. She shrugged in agreement, and he went to get out the eggs. "I was thinking of making it with green peppers, onions, and cheese. Do you have a problem with that?"

Kay Kay shivered in horror. "Please, _please _leave out the peppers," she said as if his recipe was straight from Hannibal Lector's cookbook. "I hate peppers. Oh, carrots too! I hate carrots, so don't put any of those in when you make dinner tonight," she insisted.

Drew narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think I'm cooking you dinner?"

"Because you're prob'ly the only here who can cook. None of us know how, and I think my parents are away at a convention or something for the weekend. If I'm lucky they'll bring me back a stuffed pokémon! Maybe it'll be a little Golduck(sp?)!" She gasped excitedly.

"Aren't your parents…" Drew turned to look at her, cranking the fire up as he did so. There it was, a face of pure childish innocence looking up at him. Please, he wasn't a wimp. He didn't care about what other people said. Besides, she wasn't a little girl. This was a sixteen year old. He should snap her back into reality, tell her that her parents were dead and gone. They were dead and never coming back, just like his old pet growlithe, imported straight from Kanto.

"Aren't my parents…what?" She asked, still with a delighted lilt in her voice.

"Never mind about that. Do I know you from somewhere?" He switched the topic. "I feel like I've met you somewhere before. Your personality is so familiar to me. Have you ever been in my region?" He cracked an egg and put it into the pan.

"Nope," she said lightly. "As for knowing my personality, look to your left," she giggled. Drew looked over to his left, seeing nothing but a mirror attached to the refrigerator. "I'm a whole lot like you, Mr. Sarcastic. That's how you know me!"

"You're adorable," he scoffed, looking back to the pan. He sighed inwardly. She was adorable. It was him in a cute little girl form, what couldn't he love? "I think you're absolutely adorable. Onions and cheese?"

"No onions," She said sweetly. "Oh, and you may be all sarcastic when it comes to saying I'm adorable, but I bet you couldn't say May was adorable to her face! You know why? Do ya? Because you think she's cute! You _like_ May," she giggled excitedly. Her hands clapped together and she began to bounce, turning the statement into a chant before squealing, "ooh! Your face is really red now, William Shuu Williams!"

"It's the heat from the stove!" he snapped, suddenly coming up with a cornucopia of statements under the category 'what's not to love'. "Sit down and let me finish making your omelet, and don't talk about me liking May anymore," Drew scolded. She leaped onto the kitchen table, wobbling a bit on the polished wood before gaining her balance.

"Or what, Mr. Sarcastic?" She challenged.

Uh-huh, this was definitely him. A rebellious spoiled kid that needed a serious smack. "Or I'll throw your omelet in the pool and force you to make your own," he glared. Her cocky expression turned horrified, ad she plopped down into her chair. There, that took care of her. She looked like she'd be quiet now. "What a well trained kid," he chuckled to himself. "Then again, gym leaders should know how to train things."

"Drew?" May gasped, he jaw dropping open. "You cook?"

"Thank Moses!" Ash cried joyfully, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Ash, you're not freaking Jewish, will you shut up!" Drew and May shouted at him together, both getting awfully fed up with this charade. (May was especially fed up because Ash had commented about his new found religion many, many times during the last conversation.

"Drew cooks?" May asked again.

"How about you ask me?" Drew smirked, flipping over the omelet a few times to make sure it was cooked on both sides. He'd already added cheese and, oops, green peppers. Well, she wouldn't notice, would she? Nah, kids didn't really notice that kind of stuff unless you pointed it out. He slid the omelet onto the plate and walked it over to the shaking with eagerness Kay Kay. "I do happen to be right here in the room with you."

"Right," May flushed. "When did you learn how to cook, Drew?"

"Before I started out my journey. I wanted to make sure I could take care of myself. I learned the two most important skills a traveling man should have," He said, about to tick them off on his fingers before Misty interrupted.

"Type trumping and how to read a map?' She said proudly. Ash beamed at her, not even caring about the insult as long as she remembered all about him. "Wait, wait. That's a reference to you, right? You got us lost a lot, didn't you?"

"Yeah, we got lost all the time. I was worst at reading maps when I was ten, but I got a bit better as I got older," he explained, his hopes dwindling a little bit. Hey, well, at least she remembered, even if she was a little unsure, and that was the important thing, right?

"Okay," she said, sticking her fork in her omelet. It was almost to her mouth when…"Hey, what's the green stuff in here? It's not a pepper, is it?" She accused Drew in a tone that reminded him of his older sister.

"No," Drew said, looking for a lie. "It's basil. I found some in the refrigerator. Don't worry, I checked to make sure it hasn't expired. It's edible."

"Okay," she said, shoving a huge forkful into her mouth. Of course, it was immediately spit out after the first bite. "Ew! There are peppers in there! You lied! That's not basil!" She cooled down and put a small forkful in her mouth. "No big deal, I'll eat around it."

"Thank God," Drew sighed. He glared at Ash, who was starting to open his mouth. "One single religious crack out of you and you're as dead as dead can be." Ash wrinkled his nose and grabbed a piece of Kay Kay's omelet. Drew rolled his eyes over at May. "Mademoiselle, what would you enjoy in your omelet?" he said with a little smirk playing across his lips. May flushed and stuttered for an answer. "May I suggest onions, peppers, and cheese?" He said, fighting his laughter. "Unless, of course, you can cook?"

"Uh, no," she blushed. "That omelet sounds fine."

"Ah!" The two awkward moment causers snapped their heads over at Misty and Ash. "Ash! Stop it! Get off! Stop it!"

"I'll have cheese and peppers in mine, it's really good. Thanks Drew," Ash grinned, letting Kay Kay breathe for a moment before digging his fingers back into the sensitive spot right under her ribs. "We're just burning off the calories from the omelet. You'd be surprised how much fat laughing burns."

"Oh, Mew," May said, putting a hand to her forehead. "It's going to be a long…life," she groaned. "We're never leaving this place. Drew, do you have any ideas?" He didn't answer her. "Of course you don't, you're too preoccupied with making omelets!"

"I was giving myself time to think," he scoffed again. "I'm going to try and get to a phone. See who I can reach. I'm going to need you to distract Unown A. Just stick by Ash and Misty. Unown A will pop up soon," Drew explained.

"Speak of the devil," May muttered, turning to the tickle fight Unown A had just entered. She leaned forward on the counter top and cocked her head to the side. Ho-Oh, did they ever make an adorable couple. She could just as easily see a sixteen year old girl in Kay Kay's place, acting in just the same way. She sighed again, this time a bit dreamily, already planning gout a romantic scene for the two of them to confess their love, and, not too long later, their gorgeous wedding. She squeaked as two fingers jabbed either side of her waist, causing a strange mix of pain and tickle to jolt through her.

"That's called a jumper cable," Drew explained calmly. "Don't you love it? In case you're wondering, I can't be jumper cabled, but you might have luck with Ash and Kay Kay over there." He slid an omelet onto a plate and held it out to her. "I was actually talking to you."

"I know, I just needed some time to think about it. Why couldn't you give me some time to think? Hmm?" She challenged confidently. Let him try and argue that! He could have a nice healthy dose of his own medicine!

"You didn't give me time to think, so why should I let you have any? Also, May, if you were actually listening to me, would you mind telling me what I just asked you?" He smirked, loving the look of panic on her face. She shifted uneasily for a minute. "Well, do you need more time to reflect on the question I asked you? I can see how you're working on discovering its philosophical tendencies. Go ahead, think deep, take your time. I can wait," He snickered.

"Okay! You're right! I wasn't listening. Are you happy now? You're always right!" she snapped, stomping her foot and pouting. "Just tell me what you said, okay?"

"You shouldn't make faces, May. Your face could freeze like that," he teased.

"Drew! Could you please tell me what's going on already?"

"Okay, okay. I just need you to distract Unown A. I'm going to call as many people as I possibly can. Get a list of numbers from Ash. His friends are probably going to believe this kind of thing more than either of our families."

"My family?" May blinked. "How'd you get my number?"

"Max gave it to me. He said if I ever wanted to call my girlfriend," his face tinted a bit at that, "or if I wanted to trade contest secrets or something like that I should go ahead a give him a call. I've also got your 'navs programmed on mine," he pulled out his pokenav (thank Mew it was still there!) and handed it to May. "Get every number you can from Ash, program it fast. If you want, open a notebook and write it down with the pen."

"Why are you doing this? Don't you think if Ash knows the most numbers he should be the one to call? I mean, his friends are going to believe his words over yours, aren't they?" May asked. Drew pinched the bridge of his nose. "What? That was a good question!"

"I explained this all earlier while you were staring off at that cute little scene over there and wishing you were in Kay Kay's place," Drew scoffed. Was he jealous? Pfft, no. Why would he be jealous of Ash Ketchum? Ash Ketchum was a moron…who didn't have a stupid name like William Shuu Williams. He also got to travel around with May all the time. He wasn't jealous though, heck no! So why was he so pleased when:

"Ew! That's just plain sick!" May wrinkled her nose. "He's like…he's like my brother! I mean," she blushed, and Drew's heart gave a twist, "I liked him when I first joined up. It was the reason I joined up with him, really. He was, you know, cute. But then I got closer and closer to him and he…he was just like my cousin," she gave a little shiver. "Just to give you a clue on how he is, Max loves Jacob..." she said, trailing off at Drew's seemingly confused face. "That's my cousin."

"It's not that, I'm trying to figure out why you just went off on a tangent. What you just said has absolutely nothing to do with what we were talking about. Thanks for sharing gthat with me though. I'll be sure to let Ash know you used to like him."

"He knows I used to like him!" May shot back. "He always knew that and even if you didn't you have absolutely no righ to tell him and you-" Drew forked a piece of omelet off her plate and put it into her mouth, fast but gentle.

"If he's as sneaky as you say he is I wouldn't be surprised if he knew. Anyway, it's not my place to tell. I keep secrets, unlike certain brown haired blue eyed half-wit coordinators," he lookedat her pointedly. May flushed a bit. "Do you have anything to say for yourself and defend your horrible behavior, Miss Maple?"

"Guh-good omelet," she stuttered out, racing over to the table. Drew shook his head and finished up an omelet for Ash and himself. Ugh, this was going to be a long (A/N: chapter) day. "Ash! Let her go! She's going to die laughing! Ash! She's about to suffocate!"

"Hey, she's not in danger until she turns blue," Ash grinned, letting her up anyway.

This time Drew groaned out loud, almost throwing the omelet at Ash. It was going to be a very, very long day.

**

* * *

**

Okay, the plan was set. May was with Kay Kay, no, Misty and Ash distracting the demon they'd come to know as Unown A. They were planning on playing in the pool and watching some kind of Disney movie again. He hoped it wasn't the Lion King II. As much as it pained him to admit it, he really did wanted to see what happened next in the childish series. He shook it off and crept into the only room he knew of with a vidphone.

_Alright, first number, _He thought, flipping open his pokenav. Why wasn't he using that to call in some private corner? He needed them to see his face, so they would know how serious he was. Odds are, they wouldn't believe him anyway. _Brock? Who the hell is Brock? I should know that one. Uh, Brock is…oh, that one! The tall kid who hits on women. How long has Ash been traveling with him? Eh, what's it matter. I'm sure it's been long enough._ He picked up the phone and flicked his fingers along the touch screen, not needing to look. After a few rings, the phone picked up. "Hello, this is Drew. Is Brock home?" Drew asked the little girl who appeared. She looked exactly like Brock! What, had the dad already had a kid? The girl stared blankly at the screen. "Did I call the wrong number?" She continued to stare, and slowly raised a cookie into her mouth, chewing slowly. "Uh, could you get your older brother for me?"

"Broooooooooooock!" She screamed. "Brock, some kid named Drew wants to talk to you!" She then turned back to the screen and stared serenely, as if nothing at all had just happened. She lifted another cookie to her mouth and devoured it too.

"Okay, Okay, out of the way," Brock said, lifting the girl from the chair and sitting in it himself. "Sorry about that. She's been told not to talk to strangers. She does that whenever someone talks to her over the phone," he laughed. "So, what'd you call for? How'd you get this number, anyway?"

"Ash gave it to me. You see, the Unown are back and they've taken over Misty's mind and turned her into a seven year old version of herself. They're planning to take over the world and we're trapped in Misty's house," Drew explained, keeping his face completely straight. Brock stared at him. "I'm dead serious."

"You're not funny," Brock muttered. "You're not funny at all. We've already faced the Unown, and it wasn't fun for us. Ash's mom was stolen by them. Why don't you try and joke about something else, huh?" He slammed the phone down on the receiver.

"I wasn't trying to be funny," Drew sighed at the blank screen. "Who's next?" He scrolled down in the device. _Gary Oak, that's a new name,_ he thought. _Ash never mentioned Gary before. Wonder if he's related to the Professor. _He dialed again, hoping this guy would be a little more tolerant than the last one. "Hello, this is Drew. Can I speak to Gary Oak?" He asked the brown haired boy who answered the phone.

"Speaking," Gary smiled calmly. "What'd you call for? And autograph?"

"Yeah," Drew deadpanned. "That's what I called for. An autograph over the phone. I'm sure that will work out beautifully. I actually called for another reason. You see, the Unown are back and they've taken over Misty's mind and turned her into a seven year old version of herself. They're planning to take over the world and we're trapped in Misty's house," Drew explained, keeping his face completely straight again.

This kid didn't even bother making a comment on why he wouldn't believe him. He stared at him like he was insane for a moment, then clicked the phone down on the receiver. Drew glared at the screen, muttering under his breath about annoying brown haired kids and how, regardless of their gender, seemed to be even more trouble than fiery red heads. He gave a quick scroll again. Well, Ash had a lot of people he knew, that was for sure, but he didn't seem to call many of them that frequently. They probably wouldn't even remember the kid if he tried to dial them up. So what was he to do?

Well, his mom…should he try and call Ash's mom? Ugh, no, that wouldn't turn out well. The poor woman might break down in tears. That, or she could be one of those kinds of girls that would find a way to break into the house and beat the crud out of him before quickly escaping out another window taking her precious Ashy-Boy with her. That was a number he skipped over. Who else? Who else?

"Team Rocket!" Drew said, shocked. "Why would he have those nitwits on his 'nav? They're…idiots!" He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Idiots, yes, but idiots that seem very good at getting out of traps. If anyone could help us out of this it's them."

It took twelve rings for them to pick up the phone. Drew narrowed his eyes. It's not like they ever did anything! What could possibly take them so long? They were obviously not calling from a vidphone since the screen stayed back. "Boss?" Came a slightly feminine voice.

"Uh, no. Is this James?" He asked. The man agreed. "Hi, James. This is Drew. I don't know if you remember me. You've stolen stuff from me a few times. Pokémon and all that kind of stuff. I hang around with Ash and his friends, if that helps."

"Uh, listen twerp, if we actually got something from you we're not giving it back."

"No! It's nothing like that! Nothing like that. See, Misty has been brainwashed by Unown A into thinkin she's a kid and now Ash, May and I are all being held hostage by Unown A! If we don't get help, we're going to be trapped in here, killed, and Unown A will take over the world! Please, will you, Jessie, and Meowth help us just this once? I swear, it's the fate of the world! Please help! Don't make me beg!"

"Uh…" He said uncertainly.

_Click!_

"What the hell! Why does everyone do that!" He slammed the phone down on the receiver with a snarl. "If one more person hangs up on me I'll…I'll, I don't kknow what I'll do! I'll kill something! I'll kill a baby," he stomped his foot. "Sonufabitch," he swore, scrolling through the pokenav again. Dawn? Dawn was the girl who came after Misty and May, wasn't she? She'd saved the world once, he'd bet! She'd probably help them out.

The phone was picked up instantly. "Hey, this is Dawn. I'd love to talk but unless my mom's dying I've got a supercontest to get ready for."

"Hey, Dawn this is-"

"I can't hear you very well. I'm in an airport. I'm flying to another town."

"I SAID-"

"Hey, what are those portal things? Huh? Metal detectors? This is new." Gumbling in the background. "Oh? What? You need my pokenav?" Silence for a moment. "What do you mean 'security'? Who in their right mind would blow up a three hundred and seventy five dollar pokenav and a pair of fifteen hundred dollar heels?" She snapped. "Ugh! Fine! Take it! Sorry, whoever you are. I have to go!"

_Click!_

"Someone find me a baby to kill," Drew snarled coolly, rubbing his temples. There was one last number Ash had in his pokenav to try. Tracey Sketchitt. Mew, that name sounded like a pun, didn't it? If they guy liked to draw he'd have to shoot the person who named the him. "If this kid hangs up on me I'm going to kill myself. Well, not myself. I don't deserve to die," he corrected himself. "I'll just kill everyone that hung up on me." He let the phone ring. "Who am I kidding? I'm not killing anyone. I couldn't stand the jail time."

"Hey, it's the autograph kid again," Gary grinned. "Calling back for another look at my handsome face?" He flashed a winning smile. Drew glared. "Alright, alright, what'd you call back here for? Do you want to drop off a pokémon or something? Gramps is busy so I'm handling the public."

"You're a people person? I take it you're the only one who works for…Professor Oak?"

"No, no, Tracey works here too. I don't really like Tracey though. I put laxatives in his brownies. It's weird, he hasn't figured out what I've been doing. I mean, I could understand the first two times, but after a while you'd think he'd pick up on it."

"Tracey! That's why it's the same number!" Drew exclaimed.

"Kid, let's stay on topic. What do you want?"

"First of all, my name is Drew, so stop calling me kid. Next, I'm calling to say the same thing I did before. It's absolutely true. I swear that the Unown are plotting to take over the world and I'm trapped in the Cerulean Gym. Will you please believe me?"

"I don't like you," Gary smiled. "I really don't. Would you kill yourself for me? You're really getting on my nerves here. Ash and his loser friends already defeated the Unown. How would they come back? Besides, what would you be doing at the Cerulean gym?"

"Well, Misty asked Ash who asked May who asked me to come and we all said yes," Drew explained. "The Unown are psychic pokémon. I wouldn't be surprised if they could, I don't know, teleport themselves places?"

"Okay, okay. I still don't believe that story of you being in Misty's. Why would Ash invite anyone else?" Gary asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you think Ash would want to spend some time alone with his little girlfriend?" Gary snickered.

"I thought that was just a joke going around. They don't really like each other, do they?" He asked, surprised. Gary nodded. "Really? I mean, Ash never really talks about her. All he talks about is his journey and pokémon."

"Just because he doesn't talk about her doesn't mean he doesn't think about her. The two of them have been keeping that secret since they were ten. Do you really think that they'd just throw it all away to tell a dreamy story to their friends and family?" Gary snorted. "If you can't figure out they like each other, you obviously haven't spent any time with them. I rest my case. You're not in the Waterflower household. Goodbye, Drew."

The screen went black again. Drew, instead of being frustrated, felt that old spark of fear starting to rise inside him. He pushed it down, out of the way. Fear was just like any other emotion, he knew. It was perfectly capable of being stifled and shoved somewhere safe until he needed it. He could control this.

He didn't even realize what phone number her had dialed until his sister's voice came over the phone. Her skin was as pale as his, her eyes a much deeper green, and her hair was dyed black with red highlights. It went well with her black and red outfit. She also had a few bandages on her wrists. Not from cutting, but she really hoped it would look that way. Being emo was in right now, and there was nothing his family loved more than being cool.

"What do you want, d---face?" She asked flatly.

"Hey," Drew smiled.

"Cute. Now cut the crap. You know that neither of us really give a damn about one another so why don't you tell me what you want so we can both move on with our lives. If at any time you realize I really don't care about you or your problems, go ahead and slam the phone down."

"Okay, listen. I'm currently trapped in the Cerulean gym after a pokémon named Unown A turned the leader into a kid and is desperately plotting to take over the world. You're my last hope! You're the only one who can get me out of this place! You've got to help me, please! Please help me!" He said, his voice starting to get louder. Half because he really was frightened, and half because the only way to get his point across was too show how serious he was.

Then the line went dead. Not from his sister. She had been staring at the screen like she had just seen a ghost. So what could've happened? What could've possibly…?

_What were you doing, little boy?_ Unown A asked sweetly. Drew closed his eyes and gulped. Just pretend she wasn't there. She was imaginary. His mind was playing tricks on him. Oh please, Ho-oh, let it be a trick. _It sounded like you were telling people you were in danger._

"Did it?" Drew asked, turning to look at the thing. "I wasn't. I hope it didn't look that way. I know I'm not in any danger. You'd never hurt any of us. You're just here to help," he flashed her his best innocent smile. He was met with a glare. He had expected as much. "Okay, so what if I was? It's not like any one believed me. They all thought I was crazy, stupid or playing some prank on them. You win this round. Can't wait to play again."

_Does the female know? May, I believe her name is. She appears to._ Unknown A murmured. Drew kept his face emotionless. Don't give her an answer. Keep May safe. Keep the only one who didn't appear to be completely screwed safe.

"I don't think she does. You should lay off a bit, just in case."

_What do you think? I can't handle you and your little friends? The only one I'm worried about is the Chosen One, and he shouldn't be too difficult if everything goes according to plan. _Unown A said darkly. _Call everyone you want, boy. No one is going to believe you. Not a single one of the ones you called did, did they? Face it, kid, pretty soon you're going to be underground with Kay Kay's sisters in a little cage, you, May and little Ash. Won't that be fun?_

"You really think that Misty's going to put her best friend in a cage?" Drew snorted. "From what I've heard, she's got a crush on him." He smirked and flipped his hair, thinking he'd finally won. Unown A laughed.

_You're right, Misty would never do that. But remember, we're not dealing with Misty, we're dealing with a little girl named Kay Kay, and Kay Kay doesn't know a William Shuu Williams, or a Maylin Maple or even an Ashton Satoshi Ketchum._

"You really think she's going to forget all of that? She's been a kid for what, a day? Nobody can forget that fast!"

_We're not in your reality anymore, William._ Unown A hissed. _We're in _my _world now. I can control everything here. Things you never thought possible! All I need is Kay Kay. The more she wishes, the stronger I get. I draw power from her. Do you see how this is working? She is helping me erase her identity. She _wants _this. That's the only way this is possible! She wants to be a kid, and to forget everything that happened! She probably wants absolute power too!_

"I don't really think so," Drew snapped. He stood up and began to storm out of the room. "None of this is real! You're screwing with our heads or something! This can't be…I saw what happened last time! You can't create matter or destroy it! It's a law of physics!" He slammed the door behind him, hard enough to make the room shake, and marched back to the sofa. He collapsed, in very much the same position Ash had, and groaned. Somehow, this sofa seemed a lot more…substantial than the sleeping bag.

_Well, _Unown A purred, looking at the door. _You know what they say, seeing isn't believing, no?

* * *

_

"Kay Kay!" Ash gasped. "How could you?" He glared. May was slumped on the floor. There wasn't any blood, no blue lips, no sign of drowning, but the only real sign to show she was alive was the slow rise and fall of her chest. She was either asleep or in a coma. Ash wasn't really sure of which.

"I didn't do anything," Kay Kay purred.

"What'd you do to May?" Ash glared. He got down on his knees and glared her right in the eyes. "That wasn't nice, Kay Kay. That was _wrong. _Misty Kasumi, that was a very, _very _bad thing to do. Don't do that! That could hurt her! Do you want May to be hurt? Do you?" Ash shouted. Her face began to crumple, her breath began short and breathy. "Go ahead, cry. What you did was still _wrong. _You can't do that!"

"You hate me," she said, bursting into tears. Her little frame shook and she swiped at her eyes. "You want me to be dead! I'll go and kill myself if that's what you want! I promise! I'm sorry!" She cried. Ash lo0oked away from her face for a minute, his heart tightening in his chest. Mew, little kids knew how to play people!

"You don't have to kill yourself, Kay Kay. But whatever you just did was wrong. I'll always love you, alright? You're still a good girl, but what you did was very bad. Do you understand? You need to fix what you did and promise me you won't do it again. Promise?"

"Mmm-hmm," Kay Kay sniffled, wiping her eyes again. "I promise I won't do it again. I'll fix her." And, with not even a glance in her direction, May woke up. Her eyelids fluttered open and she seemed nice and calm, as if it was any other morning. "See, I fixed her. Did I do good?"

"Yeah," Ash said, immensely relieved. "You did very good, Kay Kay. I'm proud of you. Now you need to apologize to May for what you did." He paused for a moment. "What…what did you do to May, huh? What'd you wish for?"

"I wished that she'd be quiet and go to sleep for a while," she said. She froze, her eyes wide in realization. "What if I had wished she would fall asleep forever? What if she never woke up? She could've died! I could've killed her!"

"But you didn't, see? It's alright. Just say you're sorry."

"May," Kay Kay said, quivering. "I'm…I'm…" she broke off and threw her arms around her, sobbing. "I'm really May! I didn't mean to! I'm sorry! I'll be a good girl from now on! I promise! I won't make anymore wishes and I won't hurt anyone! I swear!"

"Oooookaaaaay then," May stretched out the word uncertainly. "Did someone throw a bug on her or something?" She whispered to Ash, holding her close while she cried. "What just happened?"

"You almost died," he said, putting airquotes around the word died.

"I almost _what_?" She gasped.

"You told her she shouldn't have ice cream for lunch because it wasn't healthy for her," Ash explained, a smile starting to creep onto his face. "She got mad at you, so she wished you'd go to sleep. She's scared because she could've wished that you'd never wake up. So now she's sorry that she almost killed you."

"That's horrible! Why are you smiling? Are you happy I almost died?" She accused.

"No, but she learned her lesson, didn't she?" Ash grinned. "She's going to be a lot more careful from now on. See, she's guilty. Guilt's an awesome motivator. I should know. I traveled around with 'you owe me a bike' for two years."

"You're so cynical!" May gasped again.

"Just keeping us safe and doing my job," Ash smirked.

Only seconds later, Unown A had popped up, looking very freaked out at Kay Kay's tears. _What's wrong? What'd you do to her? Kay Kay, can I make it better? Can I, honey? What'd they do to you, poor thing? Did they hurt you?_

"No, I hurt them," she cried. "I almost killed poor May. I'm sorry, May!"

"I forgive you. The important thing is that you learned your lesson. You promised never to do it again, and that's all that matters, right?" May smiled. She rubbed the little girl's back soothingly as the sobs began to fade.

_Never going to do what again? _Unown A asked. Ash was pleased to note a touch of nervousness in her voice.

"She's going to think before she wishes from now on. Kay Kay almost killed poor May and she never wants anything like that to happen ever again. She made me a promise, and Kay Kay knows that you're never supposed to break a promise, don't you Kay Kay?"

"Uh-huh," Kay Kay nodded. "You're never ever supposed to break a promise. That's a very, very bad thing to do. I _always _keep my promises, no matter what! Just like Ash promised we'd meet up again someday! And we did, because he doesn't break a promise!" She shifted uneasily. "I can't remember where we met up though."

"At the Mirage Kingdom, where Togepi evolved into Togetic," May explained.

"Oh, right, Togepi," she said, not sounding sure. Kay Kay thought for a minute or too. Then she repeated it to herself, too low to hear, "Togepi? What's a Togepi?" She rubbed her head and curled closer to May as Unown A and Ash resumed their…battle of wits?

_Will you shut up you infidel! Stop doing whatever you're doing! You're not going to win! _Unown a snapped, shaking with anger, little bursts of power flying off of her and exploding in midair. _Stop it, stop it, stop it!_

"I told you, I'm not doing anything," Ash shot back. "_But _if I win, I'll admit that I'm doing something. But until I win, which I will, I'm not doing anything!" Ash shouted back. "And where the f--- is my Mew damned Pikachu!"

"Ash!" May growled warningly. "Will you stop swearing? You're going to scar the poor kid for life!"

"I'm going to scar her for life? Please! Hey, Kay Kay, mind telling me if you've learned any new words from me?" Ash asked.

"New words?" she snorted. "I've seen the Blair Witch Project, Rent, and a bunch of other movies that I'm not supposed to. I have three older sisters! What do you think, I can't figure anything out for myself?" Kay kay rolled her eyes. "I bet I know more about sex than Ash does."

"You do not!"

"What's a trisexual?" She argued.

"You mean a _trans_sexual?" Ash laughed. Kay Kay glared and shook her head no. "There's such a thing as a trisexual?" He asked in surprised. Kay Kay nodded vigorously. "Really? What the heck is that thing?"

"I don't want to know! I don't need to know!" May shouted. "Let's go play Scrabble," she paused, looking at Kay kay's delighted face. "Why are you so…oh, Ho-oh, let's not play a word game. Let's play Monopoly," May sighed. "We'll be safe in that."

* * *

The rest of the day was wasted on board games and bad movies, but they knew it really didn't matter. At least, Unown A knew it didn't matter. Kay Kay wanted to be happy. What better way for her to be happy than for Unown A to take away all those painful memories of hers? Yes, that would work quite nicely. How could her friends possibly help if Kay Kay didn't even remember who they were?

* * *

IMPORTANT: I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to keep a wireless hotspot in my grandma's house in New Jersey. **I MAY NOT BE ABLE TO UPDATE SOON, I'M NOT SURE, MAYBE I WILL BE ABLE TO, MAYBE NOT!**

Until then, keep reading! Go outside and play sports! And remember, Aquabeads: They're a date rape drug, so don't eat them!


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Once upon a time, there was an author who didn't own Pokémon. Her name was Bittersweet Romanticide, and this is her story… -cue dramatic Spiderman themesong-

**DO YOU WANT TO BE IN THE STORY?**Then PM the author! Include a brief description of your outward appearance and a quick defining of your personality! Don't forget your name and most importantly, _how do you react when insulted_? Seems like a strange thing to ask for, but you'll see. You'll be seen in a later chapter!

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Ash woke, surprised at the light weight on his chest. He closed his eyes, not wanting to look. Mew, did he ever want it to be Pikachu. What did he know? Kay Kay had gone to sleep in her own bed that night. Pikachu had been stolen from him. None of his pokémon were with him. He was pretty sure May would've ended up with Drew if she had a sudden case of teddy bear syndrome, though Drew was up on the couch that night. The two boys had decided it was the "We're Screwed" couch. When May finally figured out they were screwed, she too could sleep on that couch for the night. Odds were, it was Kay Kay. Ugh, he did not want to look. What if it was Unown A, molesting him while he slept? That would definitely not be the most fun thing in the world to wake up to. But what were the odds of that, anyway?

"Who's on my chest?" Ash asked. He listened quietly, no noise. Well, something had to be there. That much was obvious. He cracked open an eye and picked his head up a bit. Kay kay was there, resting the upper half of her body on his chest. He wiggled a little. "Kay Kay? It's morning. Get up," he encouraged. She groaned and gripped his shirt. "Kay Kay, get up. Come on, get up. It's morning. It's _Saturday _morning. Don't you want to watch cartoons?"

"Ten more minutes, Daddy," she murmured. "Then I'll get up and feed the pokémon, I promise."

"Kay Kay, it's Ash," he said, shaking her with the hand she hadn't trapped. She groaned and opened her eyes, looking at him in surprise.

"Ash? Oh, right. You're that kid that came with Unown A few days ago," she yawned sleepily. "Do you know where my parents are?" she said, starting to rub her eyes. She sat up and looked at him. "You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost!"

"Yeah, ghost of Hanukah past," Ash muttered. "Kay Kay, do you remember what life was like before Unown A was here? I mean, how old were you when Unown A came?" He said, touching her shoulder as fatherly as he could.

"Uh," she said, deep in thought. "I was seven, I guess."

"You're seven now," Ash tried to clarify.

"No! I'm seven and a _quarter!_" she gasped indignantly. I'm not some baby seven year old!" She crossed her arms over her little chest. "I'm a big girl!" her stomach growled loudly and she blushed. "I'm kinda hungry too. Do you know how to cook?"

"Milk and cereal," Ash answered. He glanced at Drew, sleeping within kicking range from him. He let his foot swing out and catch the green haired boy's shoulder. "Drew! You have to feed us!" he said, trying to be quiet enough to let May sleep.

"No," Drew glared. "Listen, I cooked for one day. One day, that's it! I made you all breakfast and dinner! Why don't one of you cook today? I'm on the "We're Screwed" couch. I shouldn't have to do anything today!"

"No, genius. The couch was yours _yesterday._ It's going to be May's today. Why? Because she's bound to realize we're screwed. If she doesn't, the couch is mine," Ash scoffed. "Now get up and make us breakfast, slave."

"Why do you get the couch?" Drew grumbled.

"Because I'm the oldest one here, duh" Ash rolled his eyes. "Not to mention the fact that I' better than you. Also, if we were to wrestle for the title, I'm pretty sure I would win. Do you want to wrestle me for the couch, pretty boy?" He challenged.

"I'm not wrestling," Drew said, rolling off the couch. "That's so barbaric. I'm not surprised that you'd want to. You're no better than a poochyena." Ash, as if to prove Drew's point, pulled his lips back from his teeth and gave a guttural growl that led into a bark. "Charming, Ash. Real charming."

"Thank you," Ash grinned. He looked back at Kay Kay, who had been giggling at the exchange all the while. "What's so funny, twerpette? You like it when boys fight over you or something?" He asked, poking her side and making her squeal.

"No, you two are just so funny!" She giggled. "What are we doing today? Can we play board games like yesterday? Or do you want to watch more movies in the pool? Hey! Maybe we could head out to the arcade or the mall!" She clapped her hands together in excitement.

"You know what?" Drew smiled. "We should go out to the arcade! It'll be lots of fun, right?"

_Now, Kay Kay, why would you waste your money on the arcade to _share _with other people when you could wish for any game system of your own? _Unown A asked. _You could even wish that your friends didn't tire out so easily! You can't do that outside, people might see me._

"I can't make wishes on other people!" Kay Kay asked. "That's _bad._" Ash smiled. That had worked amazingly well. "But I suppose you're right about wasting my money. What's the point if I can just wish it all here? Thanks, Unown A! That helped a bunch! I'm goin' into the kitchen, and I know there's going to be a big plate a Belgian waffles when I get there!" She implied, eyeing Unown A carefully. The creature nodded, and Kay Kay raced off.

_I told you that you can't win, boy. Why won't you believe me? _Unown A said to Drew, her voice dropping to that contented rumbling. She sounded like a panther purring over a carcass. Sickening. _You keep trying and trying to save yourself, but alas, you're doomed to fail._

"I hate you," Drew growled.

"Can I have Belgian waffles?" Ash said, smiling as cutely as he could. "I'm a growing boy you know. I'm only this many," he held up three fingers proudly. "I'm four!" He exclaimed, getting a snort of laughter from Drew.

_No, no you're not._ Unown A said, starting to laugh. _But you could be._ Ash's face paled. _You think you'd be that much harder to convince, Ashy boy? I could have you sucking your thumb in no time. You have no idea how easy you humans are to manipulate._

"Wuh-where's Pikachu?" Ash squeaked. That was the only thing he could think of. Mew, he knew he was stupid. How horrible would it be, to trap May and Drew here, having to take care of not only Misty but himself as well? They'd never get out! Oh, Ho-oh, if only he had Pikachu! If he had any of his pokémon! "I want Pikachu. Take away her electricity if you have to, just give her back, please! Please just give her back!" He said, starting to whine. The thing had to have some kind of motherly instinct, right? Every pokémon did! Their basest nature was to nurture, wasn't it? He hoped so. Just make himself look as childish as possible. That's it. That had to work.

_Sorry, Satoshi. I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon. Just know that your little pikapal is safe._

"Fine," Ash snapped. "You're just a crappy mother. Do you know that? If you had a heart, you would've let me see the damned thing, but no! You just had to be evil, didn't you? Why can you have a motive, like normal villains? Do you really just want total power? It won't bring you true happiness!"

_I'm pretty sure it will. _Unown A argued absently. _I like controlling people. Don't worry, I don't kill things. The more you kill the less to control, you know what I mean? So chill out, you're not going to die. I'm just going to own you like you own pokémon._

"Hate's a strong word, but I really don't like you," Ash said.

_I really hate you too. Therefore, you will not be getting any waffles. Congratulations, Ash. You get wheat cereal. Goodbye. _And she vanished with a pop.

"…damn it. There better be sugar for that cereal or I'm just plain skipping breakfast. I bet the box says something like 'start your day the healthy way'. Healthy way my butt, I want some fricken cereal where the rats that ate the box lived longer than the ones that ate the cereal!"

"Ew," May muttered, waking up and running a hand through her tangled hair. "Why do you want to eat General Munch cereal?"

**

* * *

**

Drew hated showers. Oh, don't get him wrong, taking showers was fine, but he could never figure out how the hell to work them. Every single one was different. He spent twenty minutes every night just figuring out how to turn the thing on. The Waterflower showerhead was no different. There he was, butt naked, spending way too much of his time trying to figure out now which way was hot and which way was cold. At least he had finally got the shower on.

"It's probably easier just to use the freaking sink," he said, turning around. "Holy crap! What the hell are you doing in here? Get out!" Drew shouted, tumbling backwards into the shower and screaming ore curse words as the cold water hit him. The only bright side was that the water was starting to warm up. Maybe he had hit something on his way into the tub? His back certainly felt like he had.

_I'm sorry, did I startle you? _Unown A chuckled. _It wasn't intentional. I guess I should've gone invisible._

"You should've gone invisible? You shouldn't be in here you pervert! Why the hell are you looking at me in the shower?" He screamed. "Will you get the hell out of here? I'm trying to get myself clean here! Why would you even…how could you…what the f--- is wrong with you?" He stumbled through his words. His cheeks were flushed, and he was covering himself as best he could with the shower curtain. "Will you please get the hell out of here?"

_No. I'm trying to figure out if I like the male or female human form better. After all, it won't be long before I have to make the choice. Don't worry, I' not looking at you as if I want to mate with you. You're merely a set of data in a much larger experience._

"Yeah, that makes me feel so much better about being looked at naked. Not only am I being stared at, but apparently I'm unattractive as well. Thanks for that. That really keeps my ego up there," he snapped. "Can you leave now?"

_But I haven't really seen what you look like yet. You might as well just let me look. It's a stalemate, and let's face it. You'll give up before I do. the hot water has to run out sometime,_ She sighed. _Just come out and ah, what's it called? Flash me. Yes, that's it. Hurry up now, I don't have all day._

"Are you mentally retarded? No! I'm not going to flash you! Will you get out of here so I can take my shower in peace! I'm not the only boy here! Why don't you turn invisible and stare at Ash? Catch him by surprise, he'll never know!"

_And here I thought you weren't shy. I guess you're uncomfortable in your masculinity. A lot of magazines think you're a homosexual, isn't that right? I guess that would explain it. I am, technically, female you know. I'm a vowel, not a consonant. Does that make you feel more secure? Could you hurry and flash me already? I have to make sure Ash isn't reminding Kay Kay she's actually a sixteen year old girl. I'm very busy. Hurry up and get out of there! _She growled.

"NO!" He bellowed. "Will you get the hell out of here! Go look at Ash! He's stupid! He won't realize you're there! Will you fricken leave me alone already?" She sighed and looked up at the ceiling for a moment, considering whether or not she should leave.

_Fine, fine. I'll go. I really hope May isn't as much trouble as you are. She's the only mature female around here. If she won't let me, I'll never know what a female of the human species looks like under all those cloths you wear._

"Why don't you just google it? There's lots of naked people on the internet," Drew snapped. "Ones that don't mind you looking at them naked. In fact, you'll even find out how we mate if you go to google. Why don't' you do that?"

_It's not the same as real life. And how do you know about those pictures, Drew?_ She accused, expecting the boy to get flustered and nervous. He rolled his eyes and kept his mouth shut. _Okay, I'm going. You're so unreasonable, you know that?_ And with a pop, she was gone. Drew sighed and relaxed. Maybe now he could take a freaking shower. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Drew jerked his head up, terrified.

"Yuh-yeah?" He called tentatively.

"Drew?" May asked. "I heard you screaming. Are you okay?" She giggled. "Did somebody flush the toilet on you while you were showering? I'd pay to hear that shriek again. You sounded like a girl!" She said, collapsing into a giggling fit.

"Yeah, laugh it up. Just wait until it happens to _you,_" he muttered.

**

* * *

**

May uttered the most bone chilling, blood curdling, frightening horror movie woman about to get eaten by a vampire scream that anyone in the gym had ever heard. Ash and Misty were too busy in the pool to hear, and Drew was too busy cracking up to care. May was, as expected, taking a shower when Unown A popped in, once again forgetting to make herself invisible. As brilliant a creature as she was, she could be, pardon the expression, blonde at times.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" She shrieked, fumbling for something to cover herself with. "I'm taking a shower! I'm naked! Get out of here!" May finally managed to grab the shower curtain and wrap it around her body. She stumbled, falling on her butt with a scream and her cheeks as deep a red as they had ever been. "How could you, I…oh. This is was Drew was yelling at." She took a deep breath. "I hope you're laughing it up Drew! I hope you think this is real funny!" And in the safety of the kitchen, Drew was. Loud and hard. This was the highlight of his torture trip in the Cerulean City Gym.

_I already saw everything. It doesn't matter anymore. I couldn't see Drew at all. You're a bit slower than him. You should work on your reflexes. _Unown A drifted out of the shower nonchalantly, still not caring about the nudity she'd just witnessed.

"Do you know how wrong that is?" May screamed. "Why are you looking at me naked? That's illegal! I don't care if you're a person or a pokémon that's wrong! Now get out of here!" She tried desperately to stand up, only to collapse in her wet, curtain covered heap. She looked up, half in tears. "Go away."

_You're such an egg! _She snapped. _Couldn't you be a bit more tolerant of me? I'm being tolerant. If I wasn't you'd be dead by now! Ungrateful little…ugh. Don't look at me like that. _May stared up at her, eyes wide and frightened, looking like at any moment she would be found dead. Naked. In a bathtub. Yeah, nobody would ever dream of laughing at that headline. What a way to go. _I'm not going to kill you. Damn. Little pansy._

**

* * *

**

"I'm naked," Ash blinked at the creature.

_I know, this is research,_ Unown A explained. _I'm seeing which human form I like more, male or female. So far I've seen May and Drew's form, but I really couldn't see Drew. He covered himself awfully fast with the shower curtain. You, however, are in a locker room with no obvious way to cover yourself. You seem to be quite a good target._

"Alright," Ash said, crossing his arms over his chest and seemingly not caring about the fact that Unown A was looking him up and down while he stood naked and shivering in the air. Well, wasn't this embarrassing? He wouldn't let Unown A see him blush though. Best to think that she was just another pokémon, just like Pikachu. "What exactly is this research you're talking about? Are you trying to figure out how us humans do it? I can explain that" he beamed, "Brock told me all about that! I can _totally _fill you in on that! See, when a guy thinks a girl is pretty, his body will react whether or not he wants it to!"

_Okay! I heard that speech already! I don't want to hear it from two people, especially not that human version. You monsters are disgusting in every way. I don't want to know how you reproduce. One can only imagine what you do with those parts, _She shuddered. _So, why don't you care that I'm seeing you naked._

"Well, it's the way I came into this world. I'd rather not leave it naked though." His mind flashed to the news story. 'The world is being taken over by Unown! But more on that later. Ash Ketchum, boy trainer, has just been found dead, naked in the Cerulean Gym locker room.' That was just a plain bad way to go. "Besides, you're a pokémon, not a human right? I mean, you're naked too, aren't you? I can see all your girl parts. Maybe…are you a girl or a guy? Where the heck are your parts? Do you even have parts? How the heck do pokémon…?" He blinked in surprise, rubbing the back of his neck.

_That doesn't matter! I'm a girl! You don't need to know how I reproduce. Do you want to be a breeder or something? NO! You want to be a pokémon master and…and…I freaking hate you. I'm leaving If all males are like you two, I sure as hell don't want to be one!_ She flew off in a huff.

"Well, now I can call her a psycho bitch if she ever does manage to turn human. Yay" he gave a bitter smile and pulled on his underwear. "Hey! Kay Kay!" He shouted. "Do you have anything else planned for the day?" He grabbed a towel and rubbed at his hair with it. He snatched up his shirt and shorts as well, and strode out to the pool area. Misty looked up at him with a smile from a coloring book she was doodling in. Unown A floated dangerously behind her. "Hey, where'd you get that? Y'wish for it, Mist?" he slid down next to her and cupped her head in his hand in a friendly gesture. "It's very pretty."

"One hundred and twelve crayons!" She said excitedly. "And it has a built in sharpener too! Isn't that cool? It's not like a pencil sharpener! It doesn't have any metal in it, it's a bunch of plastic! No matter what I can't get hurt! Well," she said thoughtfully, "maybe if I really tried."

"I bet you could if you tried hard enough, but let's not find out, alright? You're not Misty Drew and I'm not one of the Ketchum Boys," he smiled at the light giggle. She offered him a crayon and the two of them began to draw. "So, do you remember anything about being a big kid?"

"I _am _a big kid," Kay Kay said without looking up from the paper "And you called me Misty again, Ashton," she said, she scribbled a bit faster and dug the crayon into the paper. It was rippled because of the bleachers.

"Sorry, Kay Kay. What I meant was, do you remember anything from when you were sixteen? Or maybe from when you went traveling with me?" Ash asked with a smile, drawing in slow big swoops. He wasn't very good at keeping inside the lines.

The crayon snapped in half in her hand.. She glared at him.

"What's so great about being all grown up anyway? Don't you think there's a reason I wanted to be little? I wished to be like this, didn't I? If I didn't want it, why would I be like this? Tell me! Huh? Do you know, Ash? Do you?"

"No, Misty, I don't. Why are you so riled up, it was just a question. I was just curious. I mean, I understand that you like being a kid and all. You wished for it. But don't you think it's weird that you can't remember anything?"

"What…what do you mean?" She whispered.

"I'm talking about the little thing hovering behind your head!" Ash growled.

"You mean Unown A? Why are you trying to turn me against her? She's been nothing but nice to you guys! She means well! She's always kind and thoughtful and she really does care about me! You just seem to hate her and yell at her! She's such a nice person. Why do you hate her so much? From what I've been told, you're the evil one. I've heard lots of stories about you saving the world, but not much about what you were like."

"Are you saying you think I'm a bad person?" He blinked. "Wait, do you think I'm the one who erased your memories?" Her glare was answer enough. "You think I did that! How could think that I…we've been friends for six years, Mist! I've known you for six years! We traveled across Kanto and the Orange Islands and…and…don't you remember when we fought for tododile? Or when we fought for togepi? How about when we saved the world? You saved my life!"

"Funny, isn't it, how I'd have to rely on you for all of those answers, isn't it?" She hissed. "You're the one shoving knowledge and fact about some alternate life down my throat! Meanwhile, Unown A doesn't tell me I have to believe anything! She just says she'll do whatever it takes to make me happy. You don't seem to want to make me happy. You just want to boss me around! That's all! You're just plain…ugh! I don't know what you are! But could you please stop trying to make me into a grown up? I obviously don't want to," She said, her small body quaked with anger. He reached out to touch her should, but she twisted away.

"Kay Kay, how could you think that I…" He had to stop and swallow. "How could you think the I would do this? How could you possibly think I could do this to _you _of all people?" He said. Mew! He was such a pansy. His throat was closing up tight. He could hardly breathe. Hooh, he wouldn't…he wouldn't cry over this! He couldn't! But as his head dropped to his chest, he felt tears sting at his eyes. He coughed in an attempt to clear his throat. "I would never do something like that, not to you or anyone else."

"Just like my sisters. All teenagers are exactly the same. Emotional, sobbing wimpy kids. Why don't you trade out your estrogen for some testosterone? You hurt me. I remember that. You made me cry. A lot," She turned away. "Why don't you try and become a kid for once? Maybe you'd see things my way." She grabbed her crayons and her paper and walked out of the room, her head held high and her little chest puffed out with pride.

"But I…" he whispered, his voice cracking. "I really, really like you, Mist. I never meant to hurt you." He closed his eyes to fight the tears. He felt his eyes burn and hot tears roll down his face. Ash took a slow breath, in and out. It was shaky and wet. Before he realized what was going on, he was on his knees. "I'm sorry if I did," he gasped, starting to cry. He knew she wasn't there, it didn't matter. But he couldn't stop himself.

Unfortunately, his whispers did not go unanswered. After all, Unown A didn't follow Kay Kay everywhere, now did she?

**

* * *

**

"The shower," May hissed. Drew's only response was too laugh harder. Her face was bright red, barely visible behind her widespread fingers that laced over her face. "Of all the places to be, why would she be in the shower?"

"Because we all know how sexalicious you are naked and wet," he said, before bursting into another giggling fit. Stressed and embarrassed, May took the same course of action she did with her brother whenever her parents (or any kind of authoritative figure) was looking. She leaped on top of him and shoved his face into the sofa, a tiny part of her almost hoping that they'd faint from lack of oxygen.

Of course, when Drew actually stopped laughing and breathing, May was a little freaked out. Did she just kill Drew? That would be really really bad. She kind of had a…well, crush on Drew. It was just a little crush! She swore! She leaped off of him in a New York minute and shook him wildly. "Drew! Drew! I'm sorry! Did I crack a rib or something? Please don't tell me you're dead! Speak to me! Please speak to me! No! I just killed Drew! I'm going to hell!" She threw her arms around his neck and held him close. "I'm sorry I killed you! Please tell God it was and accident! Who am I kidding? You're going to tell God I did it on purpose. You're going to try and get me into hell. Jerk."

"Don't you check for a f---ing pulse, May? I'm not dead!" He yelped.

"Drew! You're okay! I'm not going to hell! I'm not going to…I mean, er, I'm concerned for your health and wellbeing," she said, her eyes flicking around the room shiftily before holding him even more tightly to her. "I'm not going to hell! I'm not!" She gasped excitedly.

"I will be, however, if you insist on strangling me," he said, starting to feel a bit dizzy from lack of oxygen. She giggled in embarrassment and dropped him back to the couch. "May, do me a favor and never leap on me again." He said, burying his head in the sofa and thinking about things like Harley in a speedo, any guy in a speedo, Harley making a move on him, Harley making a move on him in a speedo…

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm fixing the damage you caused," he said, glad his voice was cold. His face was very hot in contrast. He took a few more seconds to take his mind off what had just happened. "Okay, I'm better now." He sat up and rolled his shoulders. "Don't you ever do that again," he glared at her sharply. "Promise?"

"I promise," she sighed. "I don't' see what the big deal is."

"That means the few seconds I took to fix the problem worked," he chuckled. May continued to stare at Drew with childish confusion printed on her face. (A/N: I'm sure at least one of my readers are too. Here's a hint to help you: when a guy thinks a girl is pretty, his body reacts whether or not he wants it too! Got it yet?) Her mouth opened to ask what he meant. "Don't ask, May, just move on."

"Okay, I guess I will," she said. "Well, let's talk about," she sighed and blew some loose strands of hair out of her face. "Er…well, what do you want to talk about Drew? Do you want to talk about fashion?" she asked excitedly.

"May, everyone already thinks I'm gay. I am not playing into that stereotype, alright? Let's not talk. Let's watch TV. Anything but the news or cartoons," he groaned. "Cartoons are for dateless losers and kids. I can't believe they rite fanfiction out of that shi…" he caught May's warning glance, "shitake mushrooms."

"Uh-huh, that's what I thought you were going to say," May said. She picked up the remote and automatically changed the channel to PBS, starring the teletubbies! Drew groaned and collapsed into the couch. Now he needed the "We're screwed" couch again. "What's the matter Drew, you didn't say anything about PBS."

"How did you know exactly what channel this was on?"

"I have a little brother," she grinned. "Hey, do you know what PBS stands for? I do."

"Peanut Butter Sandwich," Drew guessed, not really caring about whether he was right or not. May, of course, guessed as much, but didn't really care. She finally knew something Drew didn't and that was enough for her.

"Public Broadcast, or Broadcasting," she paused, "I can't remember which. Oh well, doesn't matter. Public Broadcasting Station," she beamed. "You didn't know that, did you Drew? Nope! You didn't! I did though! I finally know something that you don't!"

"What egg group is Cumbusken in? You should know that. It's your pokémon after all."

"Oh yeah?" ay challenged. "Well…oh yeah?" she said again, starting to blush. "Well I'm not a breeder and I have no intention of breeding my pokémon either! So why would I need to know that? I wouldn't! Take that!"

"If you're leaving her at a daycare center and you didn't want an egg you'd have to check what other egg groups were there. You see, the owner of the female pokémon always gets the first egg. That's the day care center rules. The egg should stay with the mother because she can hatch it faster and you can come back to get another egg. It's all business. You're going to get taken advantage of, May. It's a cruel world out there," He swept himself gracefully over to sit down beside her. "I mean, I'm trying my best, but I can only protect you for so long. Sooner or later you're going to fall."

"Protecting me?" She said incredulously. "Since when have you ever protected me? You've been mean to me, you've made fun of me, you've told me a million times how bad of a coordinator you think I am. I mean, where were you when Harley tricked me? Where were you when he tricked me again…" she paused and sighed with a flush, "and again. See, what I'm trying to say is you haven't helped me once!"

"Are you kidding me? I helped you as much as I could without violently shoving you to the ground, climbing on top of you and screaming in your face "He's trying to trick you, retard! Don't do what he says! Next time you have a question about rules of the league, ask me!" Do you want me to do that next time we have a contest? I'll do it. Next time Harley shows up I'll do that," His voice was surprisingly calm, smooth and even tempered.

"Yeah, go ahead and do that I'd like to see it happen," she snorted. "Next time I'm being a moron, go ahead and tackle me onto the ground nd scream in my face. Maybe that'll get my attention. Mew, Drew! I'm not that dense!" She paused for a second and gave a little giggle. "Hey! That rhymed!"

Then Drew had pinned her to the comfortable sofa, his hands on her shoulders and her legs between his. If he wasn't so focused on embarrassing May and making the point, he probably would've realized such a compromising position would not do wonders for his reputation. May, however, was a bit star struck at having her laddy love on top of her. (A/N: laddy love, not lady love.) Infact, she was so embarrassed she forgot absolutely everything, including how to speak and how to blush.

"May, you are being a moron. There in no way in hell we're getting out of here. Stop hoping and just make pathetic attempts to escape. There is no master plan way out of this. _We are screwed._ Do you understand now?" May's mouth open and closed wordlessly. "Is that clear?"

"…" A few deep breaths in and out and then, "Oh my God! Drew, you're sitting on top of me and, and…oh my God! Do you know what this looks like? It looked like we're…we're you know!" Her voice dropped to a low frantic whisper. "Making out?"

"Looking like we're making out is the most innocent thing someone would suspect if they walked in on this," Drew snorted. He flipped his hair casually. May couldn't help but wonder how he managed to keep his balance. "Did what I just did really help at all?"

"I can't really remember what you said. I'm kind of distracted by the fact that there's a fourteen year old guy sitting on top of me. That's a bit distracting. Would you mind getting off of me? I don't want anyone walking in on this. I mean, how would we explain it?"

"Maybe we should give them something worth explaining," Drew said, looking awfully questioning rather than serious. What, was he asking her if it was okay? That didn't seem like Drew. Well, then again, it was…what was the word? Gentlemanly?

"I guess we could," May agreed quietly, feeling her breath pick up and her heart beat wildly. He was starting to come closer. Was he going to…? The moment felt right. She was pretty sure she was ready for it. Were they actually going to…? His face was an inch away from hers.

"Look, missionary position," Kay Kay gave a wicked smile as Drew tumbled off of May, a slight blush on his cheeks. "I'm sorry, did I interrupt an Axe commercial?" She giggled. "Anybody going to make me lunch? I'm _hungry!_"

"Alright, go into the kitchen, I'll make you something in a second," he nodded. Kay Kay rushed ou tof the room, and Drew glanced back at May. "Nothing happened," Drew said firmly. "Absolutely nothing happened. If Kay Kay says anything we'll say I tripped and you stopped my fall and we both ended up on the couch. Don't add details it makes a bad lie. Just one good detail, no more than that, alright?" He stared at May, who merely blinked at him, frozen on the couch. "Nothing happened, okay? Nothing," The last part was a bit loud, a bit rushed. Did she really see a bit on a blush on his face. Before she could get a closer look, he was gone.

"No," she murmured sadly. "Nothing happened," she pulled a pillow close to her chest and gave a long, dramatic sigh. "But it could've. You wanted it to, and so did I." She frowned and dug her nails into the pillow. "I swear, if it's the last thing I do, William Shuu Williams is going to kiss me. And it's going to be freaking romantic!"

"Hey, May, do you want a turkey sandwich?" Drew asked, looking back in the room. "I thought I heard you say my name. I thought maybe you'd like some lunch too or were you just being your weird self?" He inquired.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I was just asking for a ham sandwich instead of turkey. Could you do that for me?" She smiled. "That'd be really great. I'd make it myself but, er, I can't cook at all." She blushed. Drew smirked. "What are you so pleased about?"

"Well, if you can't cook, I guess I could always try and teach you. Not today, there's no point in teaching you how to make sandwiches. You just throw a bunch of ingredients together on top of some bread. I'll show you how to cook some real food. Maybe something for breakfast tomorrow morning"

"I want pancakes tomorrow!" Kay Kay shouted enthusiastically from her chair in the kitchen. "When are we eating, I'm so hungry! And with Ash being in his little depressed corner, maybe I can get his portion?" She shot Drew a cute little girl smile.

"Kay Kay, why is Ash depressed," May asked, swallowing a lump in her throat. "Did you say anything to him?" The two of them made their way back to the table and sat across from her May snatched up Drew's hand, ignoring the suspicious glance he gave her. _At least he's not pulling away, _May thought, allowing herself a bit of hope.

"Nothing really, I called him an emotional teenager who wants me to be just like him and how I believed Unown A over him and all that kind of stuff. He deserved it. He keeps saying all this stuff without any proof. How am I supposed to believe him?"

"Kay Kay," Drew asked cautiously. "Where's Unown A now?"

"Oh, I left her with Ash I'm sure she can make him feel better," Kay Kay smiled "She only wants us to be happy. Really! I know she's hard to trust, especially after what she's told me she did, but it wasn't her fault! She can't control what stupid kids do. That's why she chose me! Because I'm not a stupid kid who'll make stupid wishes and give the Unown a bad name. I'm going to give them a good name!" She picked up a glass of milk (that hadn't been there just a second before) and used both hands to take big gulps.

"How long has she been with Ash? For a few seconds?" May asked, getting ready to run to wherever he was. "Can you tell us _exactly _where you left him? It's very important. Unown A and Ash aren't the best of friends. They…they might hurt each other."

"Oh, I don't know _where _exactly," she shrugged, obviously not seeing the importance of the situation. She wiped at her mouth with her arm. "It's been a few minutes though. Earlier I saw a couple of shows on TV. Oh! A movie too! I saw a movie about monsters and a little girl who goes through the door and laughter is more powerful than screams!" she sighed dreamily. "I liked that movie. I wish I could remember the name so I could see it again."

"Kay Kay, this is really important," Drew said firmly. "Where. Is. Ash?"

"Um," she blinked slowly. "I can't remember. I'm sure he'll be fine though!"

"Oh no," May whispered.

**

* * *

**

_Don't cry, Ash. It's okay,_ Unown A soothed. _She's just a little girl. All she knows how to say is the truth, and sometimes little kids are blunt about it. She's doesn't know how to express herself in a way that won't hurt you. That's a skill you grow into. I'm sure if you talk to her you can reach an understanding. It's just a little fight, Ash. But…you could. No, you wouldn't be willing to do that. I mean, it would work but…no. You're too honorable for that._

"For what?" Ash gulped, looking up from his hands. "Wait! No! I'm not falling for this! I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to get me to trust you like you did with Misty. I know what you're up to, Unown A. You told me."

_Please, Ash, that old joke? _Unown A scoffed. _Maybe I'm a better actress than I thought. I'll drop the charade, I guess. _She pronounced the word fancily, sha-rod instead of sha-raid. _It's not real. I've been pretending. I'm a pokémon. You know the rule about pokémon. We're all basically good. See, sometimes we just have masters that force us to do bad things. Just because I've had bad owners in the past doesn't mean I'm the bad one._

"You shouldn't be forgiven for anything you've done. How many people have you killed because of so called 'bad masters'? How many wars have you started?" he snarled. "How many lives have you manipulated because your 'master' asked you too?"

_Is the child to be blamed for the father's sins? I was not alive then, Ketchum. That was not my time. We have children. We have generations. What my fathers before me have done should not be placed on my shoulders. Once upon a time, the Ketchum family were thieves. Your fathers stole from the poor to receive gifts from the royals, Ash. Should you be blamed for that as well? It's give and take, Ashton. I won't blame you for what your ancestors did if you won't blame me._

"And how am I supposed to know you aren't lying?" he snapped.

_Misty trusted me. Misty never led you wrong, did she? She helped you win badges and matches. She helped you get out of the forests when you were lost. She made you work harder when you were feeling down. If you can't trust Misty, the one that wanted nothing more than to make you happy, who can you trust? She trusted me, Ash. You should be able to trust me to. A friend of a friend is a friend to you, yes?_

"I…" he began. He swallowed. "I don't think we're really friends anymore. You said it yourself, all little kids know how to speak is the truth(1)," Ash closed his eyes. "She doesn't trust me at all anymore. It's all because I…" he shook his head. "I didn't mean to make her cry! I didn't know!"

_You were young and confused, Ash. You know better now, don't you? As for Misty, she did give you an idea on how to understand what she's feeling. Maybe then you could think of a good way to apologize. Don't you agree? _She said. That purr was coming out, she shoved it down. She hadn't gotten him yet. She needed to keep herself under control. She couldn't scare the boy off now. He was the difference between the failure and success of this plan. Mew, how she _hated _best friends!

"She…she said something?" Ash looked up. "I don't remember her…oh. You mean…you mean that. I don't think I should do that. Look at how Kay Kay turned out. I mean, literally. She's Kay Kay now. I don't want to be…trapped. I mean, what if I get stuck?"

_Good point, good point. _Unown A agreed. _There's a simple solution to that. See, you can put something on it called a time lock. See, all you need to do is wish that you'll be a kid for say, one day. At the end of the day, you'll be sixteen again. Automatically. That way you're safe. You'll change right back. Doesn't that sound like a good plan?_

"It does," Ash agreed. He swallowed. "But…do you think that Kay Kay will actually want to be my friend again? I mean just because I turn into a kid like her…why would that make her forgive me for everything I've done?"

_Silly boy._

"Why do you say that?"

_You're not going to change into a little kid to apologize, Ash. You're going to change into a little kid so you can understand her better. Maybe by the end of the day you'll have figured out what you can do to make it better. I'd change you into a girl too, but that might make it a little bit harder to change you back. _She joked. She let her spirits pick up when he laughed. He actually _laughed. _He trusted her! Finally! This was no time to get ahead of herself. Stay calm and cool, she hand him right where she wanted him. _The choice is yours, Ash. I don't want to take advantage of you when you're hurt. That's just cruel._

"Really?" Ash blinked up at her. "Maybe you're not so bad after all. So, if I say no you're not going to pressure me into it? You're not going to follow me around all the time and try and persuade me into being a kid, right?" he asked suspiciously.

_No, Ash It's all up to you. I don't care whether or not you do. I really just like to make people happy. It's what I've been created for. So go ahead and make your choice. If you need a few minutes to think about it, that's fine. You feel there's a big risk, I understand._

"I…I do need a minute," Ash swallowed. He rolled back and pulled his knees up to his chest.

_Take all the time you need,_ She said warmly. Then she waited. She was no stranger to waiting, though half of her wanted to pound the kid into the ground screaming "do it before I completely obliterate you!" She somehow managed to control the urge. Ash was taking his sweet time thinking. Ash and thought, ha. From what Kay Kay had said about the boy those two words shouldn't ever be in the same sentence. Ugh, how long had it been? Fifteen freaking minutes. What the hell? Did the kid fall asleep on her or something?

"Alright," Ash said finally. "I'll…I'll do it. But I want that time lock!"

_Whatever you wish, Ash. I'll put the time lock on if that's what you wish for._

"How do I wish for it?" Ash inquired. "How do I wish to be a kid? Tell me what to do, and don't leave anything out!" he warned. "If I think anything's weird, I'm backing out! So make sure you explain really well!"

_All you have to say is: I wish I was seven for one day, and then I turn back to my sixteen year old self. _Unown A explained. _Your time lock is right in the sentence. Is there anything I left out, or do you think it makes sense?_

"Makes sense to me! Doesn't sound like I'll get stuck like Kay Kay did, I mean.." he sighed. "I'm sorry, but it's really hard for me to believe that this isn't all going to blow up in my face. Everything blows up in my face!"

_Yes, but it's my idea. You won't screw up because I'm here to keep you safe._

"I can't believe I'm trusting you. You're…you stole my om! How could I possibly believe that anything you do is alright? It's so weird though," Ash sighed. "You're so…trustable, you know what I mean? Is trustable a word?"

_Yes, but that's a bit irrelevant to the situation._

"What's irrelevant mean?" Ash asked. "It's, like, unimportant or something like that, right?"

_Yes, Ash. Now, would you like to make the wish, or would you like to go on discussing that limited vocabulary of yours?_ She forced a light laugh in her voice. He protested, but smiled anyway. Oh, Mew, she was so close she could see his little kid form already.

"Alright," he took a deep breath in and out. "I wish I was seven for one day and after that one day I turn into back into my sixteen year old self. Is that right?" He asked.

_That's right. Just relax, it's not going to hurt, I swear. _She soothed him. It took a second for a little Ash to open his eyes and look up at her with a smile. _Hey, Ash. How does it feel to be a kid again? _She inquired.

"Again?" Ash asked in surprised. "I've _always _been a kid. Guess what, guess what? I'm seven!" he said, proudly displaying eight fingers. He looked at them. "Wait, wait…that's wrong." He quietly counted his fingers then displayed them again, this time with the right number of fingers. "I'm seven!" He declared again.

_That you are. You don't remember being sixteen? _Unown A blinked in surprise. She hadn't intended that to happen instantly. Lucky her! This was just getting easier and easier. Ash shook his head at her wildly. _Not one bit?_

"I'm sixteen? Really? Does that mean I can say shut up and stupid now? Teenagers get to say that stuff. I'm not allowed because that's a bad swear word. I said damn once and I got in BIG trouble," he bounced up and down excitedly. He stopped and yawned. "I'm tired. I'm going to take a nap." He dropped to the floor and curled up, snoring not long after.

_Something up there wants me to succeed, _Unown A laughed, looking down at the boy. _Thank you!_

"More like something down there," Drew whispered, side by side with May. They'd banged at that invisible force field surrounding the stadium. Ash hadn't even looked their way. Unown A had planned for everything! And now…Ash, their ringleader of the "We're All Going To Die" circus was nothing more than a borderline retarded kid! "I can't believe she got him! Who's next, us? She's going to turn the whole f---ing world into kids!"

"No, Drew. Ash was just our only hope of changing Kay Kay back into Misty. With both of them as kids, we'll be too preoccupied taking care of them and keeping their tempers cool to try and turn them back. Ash was also the only thing keeping Kay Kay from wishing us all to bow down before her. With Ash gone, Kay Kay's practically unstoppable," she whispered. "If you need me, Drew, I'll be on the couch."

And although he knew it was inevitable, it still hurt to see the last hopeful collapse on the couch. Every last one of them had now decided. The game was over, check and mate. Now all they could do was watch the world around them crumble.

"Fan f---ing tastic."

**

* * *

**

This isn't a tragedy, my darling reviewers. They _will _get out. But things are going to get worse before they get better. I'm a sucker for my happy endings though. So keep on guessing! Maybe you'll get it, maybe you won't!

(1) Don't review me about that. I KNOW kids lie. A lot Unown A was lying and kids are manipulative sons of guns. I know. I don't have siblings but I have cousins. They learn to lie from a VERY early age. Not to mention, kids get their words mixed up and they guilt you into things. There was once a little girl who manipulated me by saying "but my mother died". THAT'S pure evil!


	9. Chapter 9

Oh my goodness golly goshes! We are fifty two reviews away from one hundred! Just to let you know, if I finish the story with one hundred reviews, you'll get a blooper reel! I don't care if they're illegal or not, they're funny! Keep on reviewing!

…okay, I lied. You're getting a blooper reel no matter what. Review if y'like!

Short chapter this time. Not my best. Blunt but important.

* * *

**Chapter 9**

Ash and Kay Kay still hadn't met. Drew and May had been working diligently to keep the two apart. This wasn't easy, especially considering the fact that Kay Kay had forgotten who the two teens were and had to have Unown A explain it to her for a few minutes. Of course, Unown A didn't step in until after they had been chased around by Kay Kay and her very dangerous little kid mallet. It could be wielded with some major force, even as a seven year old. After that was over, it was decided Drew would entertain the boy, and had been occupying Ash all morning. He'd had to run back and forth to feed both of them in the morning. He was starting to work up a sweat. It was nine at night. It wouldn't take too much longer now. If they could keep the two away from each other, Kay Kay wouldn't be able to manipulate Ash into staying seven. They were so close! And then…

"Drew?" May said timidly, tapping his shoulder. "Uh, I lost Kay Kay."

"What?!" Drew yelped in surprise.

"This was a pretty stupid thing to do but I thought that it'd be fun to play hide and seek! See, so I said only in that one room. I forgot that kids don't usual follow the rules. I also forgot that seven year olds aren't stupid. So, she's hiding somewhere and I don't know where she is!" May gasped. She tugged Drew away from Ash into the hallway. The boy had looked up, and seemed a little suspicious. Couldn't the boy be just a little more dense?

"Even if they meet for one second, it'll be fine. Ash is an idiot. He ran into a door earlier. Not a glass door, May. The kid walked right into a closed wooden door and fell on his ahhhh…er, butt," he corrected. "What I'm saying is, there's no possible way your stupidity could affect our current situation."

Then came the ear shattering shriek from the other room. The one they had left _Ash _in. "Uh-oh," May gasped. The two of them slammed open the door, expecting to see one of the two children standing over the other with a kitchen knife or something of the like. Instead, Kay Kay was hiding under a table and Ash was trying to bribe her out with a cookie he had found in his pocket. "What happened?" May barked, trying to get their attention. No such luck.

"Come on, Girl! It's chocolate chip and I only ate half of it!" He bribed with a cute little smile on his face. "I'm not going to bite you, I promise! I'll take you home with me and then you can be my first pokémon!" He said excitedly.

"I'm not a pokémon!" Kay Kay shrieked. "I'm a human! I'm a girl! Get away from me! You've got cooties! I'm not going to get any cooties from some stupid boy!" Ash took a bite from the cookie and held it out further. "EW! May! Get him away from me! Him and his cootie infested cookie!"

"C'mere little pokémon!" Ash said, waving the cookie in what he thought was an enticing manner. Drew growled and yanked him away by the back of the shirt. "No! Stop! I have to catch all of them if I want to be a trainer!"

"She's not a pokémon, she's a girl!" He shouted, giving the kid a shake.

"Drew! Don't shake the kid! He's little!" May cried, pulling Ash from his grasp. She picked him up and cradled him to her chest. "You were a cute little boy, weren't you?" She mumbled thoughtfully at the boy in her arms. "I bet you got a lot of stuff for free, didn't you?"

"Yeah! Whenever I was alone, it was because I was ay-der-uh-ble! Sometimes I traveled around with Gary though, and he says that I'm, uh, uh," he rolled his eyes up to the ceiling and tried to remember. "Oh! He said I was retarded and that my mom was trying to get me medicine that would help me not be so retarded and that any don-shun would help us a whole lot. Then they gave us money and Gary and I got to eat more candy! I think Gary ate more candy than I did…"

"I bet I have cooties now!" Kay Kay screamed from under the table.

"A course you do! All girls are born with cooties, duh!" Ash scoffed. May let him down as gently as she could. "And a girl is a type of pokémon! Gary told me so! He said that they were the most common form of pokémon, and that's why every man had one. He said that no one could be a master if he couldn't get one to marry him. He's marrying Sally, some kid from my school. He gave her a paperclip in the shape of a ring." He dropped to his stomach and beamed at her. "Will you marry me? You're sorta pretty. Prettier than Sally, anyway. Sally looks like a guy. I bet Gary will get really jealous of you!"

"You want to marry me? Are you crazy?" She screamed. "May! May, help me! He's going to marry me and put me in a pokéball!" She somehow managed to escape around Ash and fling her arms around the one standing closest, Drew. "Drew! Don't let him touch me!" She cried desperately, the two of them running around his legs.

"What? You don't like your boyfriend?" Drew chuckled. "Mew, I wish I had a camera. They're pretty cute."

"You agree with me?"

"You can be right about some things," he smiled. It turned into a smirk. "You're just usually wrong about everything." He turned his attention back to the kids and picked Kay Kay up. She clung to him like a drowning swimmer. "Cool it, Kay Kay. What's the worst he could do?"

"Didn't you hear him? He just added something else to his evil plan!" She glared down at him. "Don't you dare do it! I'm not a pokémon, you're not supposed to catch me, and we are definitely not supposed to get married!"

"We are too! Gary said! I wouldn't expect you to know!" he crossed his arms over his chest. "Everyone knows that girls are much more stupider than boys," he scoffed. "Stupid, stupid, stupid girl! Your name is pretty stupid too. What kind of name is Kay Kay? Did your parents name you that, because they must be awfully stupid too. Are _they _girls?" he asked. Kay Kay gave a shriek of rage and leaped from Drew's shoulder on top of Ash, slamming his face into the ground.

"Kay Kay is not a stupid name. My parents did not name me that! My name is Misty Kasumi Waterflower and pretty soon you'll be screaming it," she snarled. "And not like your mom screamed your dad's." She easily twisted his arm behind it back and held it loosely, making him yelp with pain and surprise. "Take back everything or I'll break your arm as easily as I crushed my sister's pet spider a few weeks ago."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" he screamed. "You're not a pokémon and you don't have cooties and Kay Kay is a really pretty name!" He let out a whimper as Kay Kay dropped his arm and the two teenagers managed to snatch her off of him. Ash slowly got up, looking at the girl who had managed to attack him, eyes wide. "Wow, you're really strong, Kay Kay," he said in awe. "If you were my wife Gary would be really jealous. I bet you could beat him up!"

"I can beat any stupid boy up any time I want. Boys are stupid losers that don't understand anything about girls. The only thing you're good for is breeding purposes and when you finally hit puberty and that testosterone builds you can lift tables and move furniture and garbage cans," she shrugged. "You can't do that yet, so you're practically useless right now. What's your name, kid? Full name, not just the first one."

"Ash," he said, trialing off into an inaudible mutter.

"I didn't hear that, sorry," Kay Kay said. She walked back over to him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt, pulling his face close to hers. He began to flush. Ash shifted and desperately tried to scramble away. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what your name is, Ash. I need to know it if I ever have to find you in the yellow pages. I need something weak and easy to squish to quiet my temper, and it doesn't look like my sister's getting any new pets soon."

"Ashton," he blushed to the tips of his ears when she came closer. "My name is Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. Please don't hurt me, Misty! I know you need something to squish like a bug but I can find you a bug! You don't have to squish me!"

She dropped him to the floor casually while replying, "oh, I don't squish bugs. I hate those things, why would I touch those?" She began to walk away, and then stopped at the door, turning to look at him. "Hey, Ash. I want to play on the computer for a while, but we can read same stories. I have Cinderella, but not the baby Disney version, the classic one where people get their heels and toes chopped off. Boys like those kind of things, right?" She asked. Ash nodded eagerly, a small smile on his face and the blush still on his cheeks. "Well, we can read those later tonight. Be in your pajamas and up to my room as soon as possible."

"At," he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Eight. Okay. We can do that. I've got nothing better to do. I really am sorry for everything I said earlier, Misty. You won't hurt me, will you? I promise not to say anything like it again."

"I won't hurt you, Ketchum, if you promise me you won't call me Misty anymore. I like to be called Kay Kay, that's it," she said firmly. "Do we have a deal, Ash?" She blinked for a second. "Ash, that name sounds familiar. Have I met you before?"

May crossed her fingers behind her back with hope. _Oh, Mew, Ash, you're an idiot and we love you for it, really. Please, though, Ash, for once in your life could you actually use your freaking brain and pull through for us. Tell her you remember. Tell her something, please! You can't have forgotten that fast, you idiot! You couldn't have! _She looked at the boy, who was thinking very, very hard, or was at least pretending to. Maybe they had a chance.

"Nope, never heard your name before. Maybe you know someone else named Ash?"

"Maybe," Kay Kay shrugged. "That'd make a lot of sense. I guess we'll never know, right?" she laughed lightly. Ash, surprising May and Drew, flushed at the sound and averted her eyes. "Hey, you're kinda red. Do you have a fever or something?" She approached him, hand outstretched as if she was about to check his forehead for a fever. He gasped and rolled backwards as fast as he could, staying a few away from her for every step she took.

"No, no, I'm fine," he said as fast as he could, stumbling back as she moved forward again.

"Are you sure, Ash?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, finally managing to maneuver him into a corner. "You're really red. That can't be good. Lily got that red once and she had a fever of one hundred and five. We had to take her to the hospital to get it down." Ash's face was getting redder and redder as he tried his best to find some sort of an escape route. There was none. The strange red headed girl he had met just a few minutes ago had blocked off every chance.

"Listen, Mist, I'm fine. Really. I just need to get out of here," Ash said frantically.

"And go where?" She asked curiously.

"Anywhere but here!" He decided to hell with manners and shoved past her, ears red, right on out the door. He slammed it behind him so hard the house shuddered a bit.

Kay Kay stared at the door, not looking hurt or content, just completely baffled. She looked up at May and Drew who were grinning like mad and trying to contain their giggles. "I don't get what's so funny. What is up with that kid?" She walked over to the door as they fell to the ground, laughing at some joke she didn't quite get. "Guys, what's so funny? I don't get the joke! He looked like her had a really bad fever!" The laughter continued, even louder. "Ugh! Fine! Don't tell me! I'll go find him and talk to him myself. Stupid, idiotic, weird, emotional, confusing, drunk teenagers!" She insulted before marching out the door, leaving the two in stitches.

"We need to asked the Unown for a fricken camera," Drew said, cooling himself down while May continued to laugh. "I can't believe it. Ash learned about the opposite sex before Misty did. The poor kid's getting tortured and Kay Kay doesn't even know that she's doing it," he shook his head and let his hair fly around his head. "I feel so bad for Ash, even if he is a complete and total moron. Do you think we should try and keep them separate anymore? I think Ash is pretty determined on staying a kid now."

"Aw, forget it," May waved her hand lazily. "It's over. Ash isn't going to change back. He's got a little freaking girlfriend now. I wouldn't change if I had some pretty guy I had a crush on. I'd do anything to stay with him. Eight years old is such a year for love," she sighed dreamily.

"May, they're seven," Drew corrected, not noticing her dreamlike state. She sighed again. "May?"

"Ho-Oh, Tommy was so beautiful. He was so kind too. I think he liked me. He brought me a cupcake on my birthday. He was so red when he did too. Oh, I loved that kid so much," she shook her head with a dreamy giggle and twisted a finger in her hair.

"MAY!" Drew shouted. She jumped.

"Oh, sorry, you were saying something?" She grinned sheepishly. Drew groaned and rolled his eyes. "I'm a girl! I'm allowed to get dreamy about a boy every once in a while. Just tell me whatever you were saying. I'm back to earth."

"I was saying that we should go watch a horror movie. It's getting late. If we turn off the lights it should be pretty freaky," Drew shrugged. He sat up and May did as well. Holy crap, he wasn't actually about to do this, was he? He knew she would get clingy. She'd practically be on top of him in a death grip the entire movie, grabbing any part she could for some kind of reassurance. He had to swallow at his next thought, pressing every curve up tight against him, her breath hot on his ear while she stared transfixed at the screen. But that wouldn't happen! He didn't want it to happen! She looked so scared.

"Well, I don't know," She shifted uncertainly.

"What's the matter? You're not scared of a horror movie. It's all pretend, you know," he said, knowing it would shove her over the edge.

"Fine, Drew! I'll take you up on your offer!" She shouted. "We'll see any horror movie you want! I love horror movies! I can't wait to see you tremble when the killer shows up! I'll be laughing because I'm not a coward like you!" She stormed out of the room, leaving Drew with a small smile.

"I'm going to have a girl hanging off my arm all night," Drew grinned. "I don't care what anyone says about it. They can say I'm in love with her, they can say I'm a dirty bastard. I don't give a damn. I've got a curvy girl who's about to hold onto me all night, and that's all their is to it!" He nodded firmly. Than why did he feel not so, well, turned on, but kind of…what was a good word for it? He rubbed his head softly. He couldn't put a word to it, but for some reason when he thought of that night, he was picturing May rubbing up against him while he sat there was a huge horny smile on his face. He was picturing the two of them just sort of cuddling.

Pretty weird, right?

**

* * *

**

Kay Kay stood on top of the sofa, glaring at the oblivious boy watching TV below her. He had told her he needed to go somewhere. What, was she more boring than TV? She hated boys! She hated them! They were nothing but idiots with legs. They never paid any attention to her unless she was beating them up. So what if she was a tomboy? So what if she didn't wear pretty clothes or brush her hair? She deserved attention too. This guy was going to give it to her if it was the last thing he'd do. So she did the only reasonable thing she could think of. She thought it was an excellent plan. Unfortunately, when Ash found himself being repeatedly dunked in a saltwater pool, he wasn't exactly pleased.

"You ditched me to watch TV? What, am I not good enough for you or something?" She dunked him underwater and held him there for a while, letting him writhe under her hands before bringing him back up to the clean air. He spluttered and gasped for air. "Answer fast, Ketchum, or your going back under. You're not going to die, but I know from family experience being almost drowned over and over isn't fun."

"I'm sorry! It's not that! I'm really really sorry! Please don't! Let me go!" He whimpered. His hands shot up around her wrists. "Pull me out, I can't swim for a long time in the deep end. Please, I don't want to drown! I want to be a Pokémon Master."

"You can't swim?"

"I can, just not for a really long time," He gulped. "I can't pull myself out of pools. I know it's really weak but my fingers always slip and I can't go out" his eyes were starting to fill up with tears. "I almost drowned once, and Gary just laughed."

"You…but…you ditched me and you can't just…" she shook her head in frustration and yanked him up, letting him rest beside her. "Why'd you have to go and make me feel bad for you, huh? Why couldn't you be a man and act like you're tough? I mean, ugh. You're an emotional train wreck" She crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, tell me, why did you get all red and run off before? You were acting really weird."

"I dunno," he said, starting to blush.

"You better tell me right now!" She shouted. "You came in here and you've been so weird! I don't even know how you got in here you stupid boy! You tell me! You tell me right now why you're all weird! You tell me! If you don't I'll-oh!" Ash leaned forward as quick as he could to lay a short, quick kiss on her cheek, turning red. "What was that about? Do you still want me to be your wife or something? I told you I'm not a pokémon."

"I've never met a girl as strong as you before. I think you're really cool," he said, smiling shyly. "See, all the girls at my school are really pretty and make-up-y and stuff. I don't like that. They're so much work and they don't want to talk about the same stuff I do. Besides, I don't think make up makes girls look pretty. You're kinda pretty. Can we be friends, maybe? I swear I don't want to run away. I'm just not good with girls."

"Oh, well that's completely different," she giggled. "I don't care if you're all blushy because you like me or something. That's completely different! I'd be glad to be your friend. I like making new friends. Ash, consider yourself an honorary member of the Cerulean Gym."

"Really?" He grinned. "Um, I have something else to ask you too," he blushed. He pulled out a paperclip twisted into a ring big enough for three fingers. "I know you're not a pokémon, but do you wanna get married? I know that only preschoolers and grown ups do but…"

"Sure," she shrugged. "Hold on, we're not going to a priest or anything right?" He shook his head and she took the ring, shrinking it so it would fit around her finger. "I'll marry you, Ash. Now we're husband and wife. Don't you think that's cool? I'm the first out of all my sisters to get married."

"And I've got the strongest wife in the world. The other guys are going to be really jealous of you," he grinned. "You said you had fairy tales? The gruesome kind? I'd love to read some of those!" He stood up and brushed off his pants.

_Oh, Ash, _Unown A asked sweetly. The small boy turned and looked up at her. _I was just wondering, would you like to be a grown up again?_

"I want to be whatever age Mist is," he smiled. "We're married, so we're supposed to be the same age, I think. So if Misty ever wants to be a big kid, I will too! That's what married people do! I gave her a ring, see?" He held up her hand to prove it. "Hey, where'd it go?"

"The ring is on my left hand."

"What's the difference?"

"There's a ring on one," She rolled her eyes. Kay Kay held up her other hand and showed the paperclip ring. "See, we're really married, just like my mommy and daddy," she sighed. "Where in heck are they, anyway?" She shook her head and grabbed Ash's hand. "Come on, kid. Time to go read fairytales."

**

* * *

**

"Listen, Drew," May said, coming up to him in her pajamas. "I'm exhausted. I won't be able to watch the movie with you tonight. It'll give me nightmares and I can't handle it. It was hard enough taking care of Kay Kay yesterday. We're going to need all the sleep we can get if we're going to try and keep track of them. I really am sorry about this. I wanted to watch the movie, I did. It's just…" she sighed and stared at him. "You know."

"I'll keep you safe," he grinned flirtatiously. "I won't let the horror movie monsters get you."

"Drew," May sighed. "I want to do this, really. We can't though. We've got to be adults now, we have to be serious," she played with her hands nervously. "We can't keep playing this game you like to start. We have to take responsibility. It's not that I don't want to play, It's not that I don't like to play, it's just that we can't. All we can really hope for is that something happens, good or bad, that takes the responsibility off of us."

"What do we do until then?" He asked.

"Live," she said. "Take care of Ash and Kay Kay We can't let either of them get upset. All we need is for Kay Kay to wish something bad. What if the block Ash puts on her wears off and…" she gulped. "What if she hurts someone we know? What if she hurts you or me? We can't take the risk. I know you like to play with people's emotions, and you don't like getting close to anyone. I need you to connect with Ash. I need you to do your best to get inside his head and figure out what makes him happy so we can keep them in their blissful little lives. Don't worry, things are going to get worse soon. That's how the days have been working out, right?" she laughed bitterly.

"May, you don't seem yourself," Drew murmured.

"I'm not myself," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm broken, I'm hopeless. I'm so scared for my family. They have no idea that at any moment they could get wished dead. It sucks. I'm not myself at all."

"May," he whispered, reaching out to comfort her. She turned away.

"You don't need to take care of me too, Drew. We've got enough on our hands without worrying about each other," she held her head up high. "We're on our own, every man for himself. If I cry tonight, I cry alone. It's the same with you," she grabbed his hand. "I can't ask you to take care of me when I know I won't have the time to take care of you. You're a great guy Drew, really you are. I really do like you."

"You sound like you're saying goodbye," he laughed.

"In a way, we are saying goodbye Drew. It's all downhill from here," she hugged him as tightly as she could. "We'll get out of this alive, we will. It's just going to take a while," she wiped furiously as her watering eyes. "I'm going to sleep in the kitchen from now on. I don't want Unown A to screw with our emotions either. Goodnight." She let him go abruptly and stalked off, grabbing her sleeping bag on the way.

Drew stared after her. "Bye, May."

* * *

Well, you probably hated that as much as I did. Short, blunt. Needed to happen. It's going to get a bit worse, just a little worse, and then after that it's going up, I swear! Happy ending on the way! 


	10. Chapter 10

**RANT, DON'T MATTER: **Hey, kiddos. I'm back and better than ever. Okay, not exactly better than ever, but I'm here. This really doesn't matter. Why are you reading this? Oh my effing GAWD, I'm on chapter ten, guys! Chapter ten! I'm going to finish this thing!  
I feel emotional. We read "Of Mice and Men" in English. It made me _very_ emotional. Didn't cry though, I'm such a guy. God, why do I always love the ones that…you know what, read the book and watch Lennie. Go read, it's a good freaking book!

**HEY! If you find long paragraphs hard to read** **on the web **copy and paste it to a Word document, then edit it to a readable font. That's what I do. Jut letting you know because I've got some important stuff in the long ones.

* * *

**Chapter 10 (In honor of it being chapter ten, I'm going to name it!) BETRAYAL**

It was amazing how no one noticed they were gone. No one. Their pokenavs were on. They got service. May was told by her pokenav company through a text message that her minute were up, and she'd have to purchase new ones. She did this by logging on to the internet and paying with her 'pokenav credit card' she was supposed to use whenever this happened. It wasn't like it was a short amount of time. One week, two weeks, maybe even three weeks without a call or a contest or any form of contact with the outside world. Drew was a celebrity. The Cerulean Gym was closed. There was not a thing on the news. They'd gone missing for **three weeks**. Three weeks, and not a single red flag had gone up. Well, that certainly made them feel important.

Actually, it didn't make them feel anything. After all that time, they'd gone numb. Day in and day out, staying emotionless, feeling like slaves. That's what they were, weren't they? Slaves? They catered to the children's every whim. They obeyed without question. They thanked every god they could think of that the two of them were reasonable, and would listen to the suggestions they put out. The children looked at them as more of a nuisance than caretakers.

The two of them got along brilliantly as well. Ash followed her like a lovesick puppy, giving her a kiss on the cheek every now and then. She, in return, regarded him as her best friend, the first boy who had actually looked at her with favor instead of disgust.

As for May and Drew's relationship, they weren't faring well in the romance department. That was okay. They may not have acted like two teens playing the flirtatious dance anymore, but that didn't mean that all conversation had come to a halt. In fact, the two of them were quite a bit happier without the flirting. They were more than crushes now. They weren't lovers, but they were close. They were friends. When Ash and Kay Kay settled down two watch a movie, or read stories out loud to one another (Ash was discovered to be a slow reader, but quick to memorize his favorite lines and shout them out whenever he managed to stumble across them) May and Drew would stand back from their charges and talk. Not anything important, just chit chat. It'd be about what movies they liked, if they liked to read, what books they liked to read, their favorite colors, what they liked to do in their spare time, personality quiz type of questions. In fact, May was starting to feel like she knew Drew better than herself. Drew was merely surprised he remembered enough to be able to hold a reasonable conversation with her.

"Hey, Sato," Kay Kay said sleepily, resting her head on Ash's shoulder. She rarely used the nickname for him. It was really only when she wasn't exactly herself, like when they'd gotten a sugar high, or whenever she was too tired to think clear. He blushed at the book in his hands. It seemed he was wearing a permanent blush these days. He had had one since the second the book was in his hands, he dreaded reading out loud. "Is reading hard?"

"I think it is," he blushed. "I don't like words. They all look so alike! Sometimes it's hard to tell an a from an o and you have to sound out all the words. You're really good at that. How come?" he turned to her.

"I don't know. It's easy for some kids and hard for others. You'll get it with practice," she nuzzled her face into his shoulder. "We never go outside, and still you smell like trees. How do you do that? Don't answer, Sato. It's another rhetorical question." She sighed and pulled back, curling up under her covers and holding the sheets to her chin. "If you don't want to read, could you make up a story for me?"

"Why do you want me to make up a story, Mist?" He asked.

She gave a small smile and let her eyes close. "Have I ever told you how much I love it when you call me that? I don't think I have." She was silent for a minute. "I like to hear your voice. It's soothing. It'll sound good when it changes. It'll be deep and vibrating and all that kind of stuff. I love that. My daddy has your kind of voice. Tell me a story, Sato. Please? Then we'll both go to sleep." She rolled her eyes up to his. He put the book to his side.

"Once upon a time," he began, "in a kingdom far away. There was a boy. The boy…he looked like me. 'Cept he was older. He was ten. He was old enough to go on his very own pokémon journey, and he wanted a pokémon really bad. He wanted one so bad, he couldn't even sleep at night," he was excited, but his voice was clam and even. "In fact, he was so tired from staying up so late, that he overslept. No! He didn't oversleep. He broke his alarm clock. Yeah, that's it."

"Hmm," Kay Kay murmured. "I feel like I've head this one before. Not that, I mean, I know I haven't heard it but. It's…it's déjà vu," She said, snuggling deeper under the covers. She looked at the edge of her bed, where May and Drew had fallen asleep a foot or two away from one another. "The big kids are asleep, keep going. We've got time to waste. Bet you that you fall asleep before me, Sato. You look tired."

He grinned, "I'll take that. You look and sound a lot more tired than I am. Now, what was I saying? Oh, yeah. Well, since the kid was so late, he couldn't get any of the normal starter pokémon from Professor…Oak? Yeah, Oak. Well, he begged and begged and got a Pikachu. The Pikachu didn't like him very much at the beginning. In fact, she shocked him so much he had to get rubber gloves that were pink and girly to keep him from getting zapped."

"She? How did he know it was a girl Pikachu? Was it from the little dent in her tail? That's how you tell, isn't it?" She murmured, not really asking, but trying to remember. "I'm not very good with electric pokémon. I should get better, considering water pokémon have a huge disadvantage to them."

"No, she didn't. She told him. See, she hadn't become a teenager yet. She was just a kid. Pikachu's don't get that dent in their tail until they start looking for a boy Pikachu. Every dent is different," he explained. He blinked. "How'd I know that?" He whispered to low for her to hear.

"It's like boobs," Misty said coolly. "Girls don't get them until they're looking for a guy, and they come in all sorts of sizes. My sister's getting hers. She's really excited about it. I don't know why. I think all three of them are getting them actually. The boys really don't seem to notice. They're looking at the girl's that already got them. Daisy says it doesn't matter, because all of us will eventually grow up pretty. We're just late bloomers."

"What's boobs?" Ash asked innocently.

"…keep telling the story, Ash. I'll explain it later on. Maybe if you get the okay from your mom. Now, hurry. I want to hear all about Mr. Pokémon Master. He sounds kind of stupid. Was he stupid, Ash?" She asked, starting to settle in a bit.

"At the beginning, a bit. See, what happened at the beginning was…" And Ash began to tell her about something that felt like a distant memory. About a boy who looked like him, and a girl that looked like her, and a tall dark skinned boy and a tall light skinned boy and about Team Rocket with a talking Meowth. And he talked for hours and hours, surprised that Misty –_no, Kay Kay,_ he corrected himself– was able to fill in one of the blanks, and finish his sentences in the exact way he was planning on telling the story. "…and then…then the girl had to go back to her gym. But she gave him a handkerchief."

"A handkerchief?" She asked. Her words were so sleepy and tired her could barely understand her. Her tongue felt heavy in her mouth. Kay Kay wanted to sleep so badly, but this was a contest and she couldn't let him win, no matter how calming that calm voice was. No matter how much she felt the need to cuddle up against his chest and feel it vibrate against her skin. "She must've liked him then. That's what a girl does when she likes a guy."

"If she did then the guy didn't know it," Ash said, watching her eyes slide closed. "Is that really what it means?"

"Yeah," she said, not really caring. "Tell me what happens next."

"He finds new people and goes on adventures with them, but never really loses touch with the girl. They stay best friends forever and ever. He goes on journeys all over, and sometimes she visits. She doesn't care that he travels with other girls, because she doesn't think that he'll ever get a new best friend. And he won't. She was the best friend a guy could have, aside from Pikachu and Brock, of course. But she was kind of different. He made her feel kind of weird."

"It sounds like he was in love with her, and she was jealous, she just didn't want to make him sad so she was quiet about it," she slurred. He was quiet for a minute, humming an old lullaby. Kay Kay was asleep before he answered.

"You think they were in love?" he asked. He waited, but she didn't answer. "Mist? Kay Kay? Are you awake?" He looked at her. Her chest rose and fell smoothly, calmly. It was even. He cocked his head to the side and looked down at her. "You'll be pretty one day too, Mist. Just like your sisters. Ugly ducks always turn into swans, right? That's how things work. How they _should _work," he swore. Ash pulled the band out of her hair and let it lay against the pillow. It tangled in the rubber band if she didn't take it out, and she would complain. Now, how'd he know that?

He stared at her lips. It was so weird. He'd seen girls before, lots of girls. Kissing was gross, really. He knew that. It was only okay if you had kids or were married. But…he felt like he wanted to kiss her goodnight. Not just that, he felt achy. It was almost as if he'd wanted to do this so many times, but had never been able to. But that was impossible. He'd never done that kind of thing with a girl before, and certainly not with Misty. Kay Kay! It was Kay Kay that he meant. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It made his stomach twist in a pleasant way and his heart speed up with excitement. He pulled away.

"Goodnight, Misty," he whispered. "I know you can't hear me, but I think I've met you before. I think I used to love you," he paused reflectively. (Yeah, I know, Ash and reflective in the same sentence, hahaha. I get it. Not trying to be funny here…) "In fact, I think that story I told was about us. Wouldn't that be weird?" He shook his head, feeling seven again. He was being stupid. "It's stupid. _I'm_ being stupid. Goodnight, Kay Kay."

The scene was adorable. Absolutely adorable.

Unown A hovered over their bed, unseen and unnoticed. She glared down. _I was starting to like you as a little kid, Ash Ketchum. You just had to start growing up, didn't you? You had to tell that story._ She flew in a circle down to him, close to his already sleeping face. _You fall asleep so fast. Had to grow up fast too. I really do hate hurting my host. Misty was so sweet as to open that little box for me. Here I am, completely betraying her. Sad, really. I should feel much worse about my actions. Unfortunately, I seem unable to feel such compassion towards you._

She flew close to Kay Kay's face, sighing. _Well, your husband is going to betray you, dear. Not on purpose, in fact, not at all. You've always believed my word over his. Why are you so eager to shove him away? A fear of commitment? A fear of love? Ah, it doesn't matter any how. He's going to break that heart of yours once again. I might feel bad. Not for you, but him. Oh, the look on his face when you'll yell at him. I can't decide whether to relish it or cry. Crying seems rather appropriate. It might make me a bit more believable. Sympathetic to your problems. _She mused on how to break the news to her. _"So sad, Kay Kay, but it had to be done. I'm sorry you had to find out this way. On another note entirely, want to take over the world?" Actually, that might work. I wouldn't be surprised if it did. Children are much easier to manipulate, especially if you're a superior kind of figure._

"What's happening?" May garbled, starting to wake up at the sound of Unown A's voice.

_Dammit. I try to be a Mew damned evil villain and what happens? The girl wakes up and ruins my rant. A villain can't get a freaking break around here, can she? No. Of course not. _She flew over to May and hovered over her head. _I f---ing hate you! Why do you have to ruin everything? _Unown A ran off in a huff leaving May a bit confused, trying to remember what exactly she had heard Unown A say to the sleeping kids.

She crawled over to Drew and shook him, moaning his name more than speaking it. "Drew, get up. Get up, Drew. One of us is getting the couch tonight. I think Unown A is planning on doing something to change the situation. I think we're going to end up in an even worse situation."

"She turning you into a kid?" He asked drowsily, yawning and rubbing his eyes. "If you turn into a kid, I'm not taking care of you three. I'll kill myself, I swear. If I see a little brunette running around soon I'm stabbing the giant blue monster in the pool with a fork and leaping into its mouth."

"No, she's going to mess with Ash and Kay Kay. We're going to just be helpless bystanders. Do you think we should try and convince them she's lying, or just lay back and let it happen? I think we should try, just in case we succeed."

"She's messing with…?" he said thoughtfully. His face broke into a very un-Drew-ish smile. "Really? We're completely and totally screwed? Things are going to get worse? Well, I bet Ash and Misty won't need us then. Won't that be fantastic?"

"Drew! That's not fantastic at all! That's horrible! That's completely horrible! We…we're in tremendous trouble and all you can think about is the fact that you don't have as much responsibility as before! I like that idea too, except for that little fact that it's because Unown A is going to take over the world! We're going to be laves to her whim! Humans are going to be the lowest creatures on earth! Oh, Suicune and Raiku! I couldn't stand to be in a pokéball!"

Drew continued to smile lazily. "Wow. No more taking care of the kids. No more keeping Ash from walking into doors and drowning in the bathtub. No more taking care of some kid it wasn't even my fault for. Sure, we'll be slaves, but we'll probably be more free than we were before. Our whole families will be slaves. Oh yes! My sister is going to be a slave. I hope they put her in a dress. In a pink dress. Oh, better, they make her a pole dancer for fat, old, ugly guys."

"Drew! I'm trying to be serious here!" May snapped, keeping her voice low so as not to wake the slumbering kids. Drew got up in her face and gave a devilish smile. "What the hell is wrong with you! I told you no more flirting! This is a serious and dangerous situation! We have to be adults! We have to be serious! We have to…to…you know! Stop being so immature! Go get to the screwed couch and think about how screwed we are."

"Hey, we're totally screwed starting tomorrow. We won't have to be adults anymore. We can do all kinds of awesome stuff," he kissed her nose, making her flush. "Your favorite food is Ramen noodles, the pink bag kind. Your favorite color is mauve for some reason you can't understand. You've always wondered what you parent's reaction would've been if you did something completely and totally rebellious, but you're too scared to try anything."

"Drew…I…what does that have to do with anything! You're so random! I told you no flirting! We still have to be adults you know! No matter what happens we have to be serious!" She gasped, falling away from him, embarrassed and confused.

"No. No we don't. Isn't it wonderful? We've gotten to know each other wonderfully. Our friendship is going wonderfully. The fact that we're screwed isn't so wonderful but I never really had any hope to start with, so it doesn't matter to me!" He laughed. "Oh, Mew, I've gone insane. But, frankly, my dear, I don't give a _damn_."

"What has gotten into you, you psychopath?"

"The spirit of Christmas!" He laughed, beginning to wonder down the hallway, humming The Cinderella Waltz under his breath. "_So this is love, m-m-m-m, so this is love. So this is what makes life, divine. I'm all aglow, m-m-m-m, and now I know. The key to all heaven is mine…"_

It took a few minutes for May to finally hiss. "It's not freaking Christmas!" Then in a softer surprised tone. "How do you even know all the words to that stupid song? Those two never even made you watch Cinderella!"

**

* * *

**

"_My heart had wings, m-m-m-m, And I can fly. I'll touch ev'ry star in the sky. So this is the miracle that I've been dreaming of, m-m-m-m-m, m-m-m-m-m, so this is love…"_ May sang quietly under her breath. She spun lightly and continued down the hall. She had no idea where Kay Kay had gone off too. She should have been much more worried. In fact, she should've been in a panic, knowing that at that very moment, Unown A could've been persuading Kay Kay to beat them all to death with that mallet of hers. For some reason, though, she felt bubbly. Her mind kept drifting off, as sad as it was, to that simple kiss on her nose.

She'd never…no guy had ever kissed her before. She didn't care how stupid it seemed. She was high on life. She let herself daydream. What if Drew had aimed lower? What if he had actually kissed her lips? She gave a giddy giggle and spun again, still singing the sappy love song. She wanted to be Cinderella, and he was her night in shining armor. She didn't care if it was a romantic cliché. Let the other girls make fun of her. She thought of love more than lust. Was it her fault she was innocent? Truly innocent, not fake innocent. Not the kind of 'I'm a good person' where they read romance novels and said they were love stories.

She knew all about those. They were smut, not love. It was word porn. If guys weren't allowed to watch it, girls shouldn't be able to read about it. People described it so amazingly you might as well have seen it. There was no difference, really.

The song switched without her even realizing it. "_L, is for the way you look, at me. O, is for the only one I see. V, is very very, extraordinary. E is…_" she continued to sing without breaking, "I don't know the words and _love, is all that I can give to you…_" She sang and danced, a stupid smile plastered on her face all the while. She was a lovesick poochyena, and she didn't care. In fact, when she crashed into Drew a few seconds later, all she could do was wave dizzily, giggle a ditzy "Hi, Drew" and keep walking down the hallway.

"Damn," Drew laughed. "If I had known all it would take for me to get her that crazy I would've done that ages ago." He leaned casually against the wall as Unown A flew by "Good morning, Sunshine. How's the plot to take over the world going?"

_Fantastic. I'm about to destroy the two lovebirds. What are you planning on doing to stop me? _She said, almost nervously. She flew close to his face and glared. _Well? What? Are you going to try and convince them that I'm lying?_

"Nope," he shrugged. "I'm not going to do a single thing about it Go ahead, screw us over. I don't give a damn, Unown A. You're going to take over the world. I've accepted my fate. Why, are you looking for a challenge, then? It seems like you are."

_No! Of course I'm not! I don't want a challenge! It doesn't matter though. Even if you did challenge me you wouldn't win! You can't win! I'm better than you? Do you know that? I'm twenty times better than you! You'll never win! You…you just wait! You're going to be my slave._

"Yes, yes I am," Drew agreed calmly "I told you, I've accepted it. You're going to win. Sometimes that's all you can do, right?"

_No! You're supposed to go down screaming. You're supposed to fight and scream and go down as hard as you can! You're not supposed to roll over like some kind of submissive creatures! You're supposed to have dignity and fight your way down. Well? Fight! Fight!_

"I told you, I'm not going to fight anymore."

_Why not?_

"It's not worth it! I'm not going to fight!"

_Don't be a pansy ass! Fight me, dammit! Where's May? Show me to your little girlfriend! I'll tell her what's going on! She'll fight me! She's not some sort of weakling like you are! She has some self respect left! Not to mention hope!_

"Actually, she's done too. Both of us have figured out that we lost. Shouldn't you be happy? You've won. Just move the final piece and get the stupid check mate. We're waiting for it. Once this is all over and the new world order is established, we can get back to living. Not a normal life anymore, but it will be eventually. You'll probably get knocked off your pedestal eventually. In, I don't know, three hundred years."

_Are you planning something?_ She asked suspiciously. _You are, aren't you? Well you won't get away with it! I'll stop anything you plan! I'm twenty times better than you'll ever be you stupid human boy! I'm Unown A. I'm incredible! I'm fantastic! I'm unbeatable._

"Uh, okay then," Drew said uncertainly. "You're the best. I won't argue that. I don't care. Listen, I'm not planning anything. Sometimes you actually win. Sometimes you manage to break a person's spirit and they wind up like this. Pathetic and putting no effort into fighting you. Maybe later on you'll screw up and we'll get our fighting spirit back, but until then, you're safe on your high horse. Don't screw up. I wish you the best of luck with your little plot," he nodded at her and walked away.

_You can't walk away from me! You have to stay and listen! You have to pay attention to me! I'm not someone to be ignored! You listen to me!_ She screamed. He continued to walk away. She screamed and erratically flew through the air, little bursts of power starting to fly off. _It's not fair! I won! I won! Why aren't you sad? Why won't you pay attention to me? You look at me! You look at me! I'm not just one of a million Unown! I'm not! I'm better than them!_

Drew held his arm up in the air and let it drop as he walked away.

Unown A felt her eye burn. The floor shaded a different color. Slowly, more and more droplets of the floor started shading. She was confused. What was happening? Why did she feel nauseous? This was strange, very strange. She needed to find the two kids. Immediately. Now was the time to put her plan into action. Seeing someone cry would make her feel better, make this strange ache stop.

Anything to make it stop.

**

* * *

**

Kay Kay's eyes were closed as she stood in the shower, her head rolled back as the hot water pounded her front. She hadn't unplugged the tub right. As she shower the tub filled with water, it was always tricked like that. She'd have to stop the shower soon. The water might overflow. It'd be one interesting hot tub. _Huh, I should ask Unown A for a hot tub,_ she thought peacefully. She rolled her shoulders back and sighed. There was something about a hot shower that nothing in the world could replace. "Unown A, come here. I need to ask for something. I want a hot tub. I want to go outside, too."

_Kay Kay, it's a good thing you called. I've been searching for you._

"I thought you always knew where I was. You're psychic, aren't you? Isn't it your ability to be able to read my thoughts and find me no matter where I am?" She asked, rolling her head on her shoulders. "Can I have a hot tub?"

_Yes, yes, but there's something important I need to tell you._

"Unless it's about me going outside, I really don't want to hear it. I want to play touch football with Ash."

_Yes, Ash, that's exactly what I needed to talk to you about. Kay Kay, Ash isn't who you think he is. He's actually Ash, the kid who first came here. Do you remember him? It's all a lie. Ash isn't who you think he is. I'm sorry to tell you but-_

"I'm sorry?" She asked, turning off the shower and stumbling out for a towel. Three older sisters and one bathroom with a shower had really taken away all shame of nudity. Not to mention all the bathhouses her parents took her to. "I wasn't listening. Were you saying something?"

_Yes! _She said exasperated. _I was saying something very important! Nobody ahs been paying any attention to me at all lately! Everyone has been ignoring me Kay Kay, it's horrible! It's as if I don't even matter. It's like I'm exactly like all the other idiots in the box with me! You know I'm not. You know I'm better than all of them combined! I'm the intelligent one, the leader, the planner, the all knowing one. Don't you think?_

"Uh, I guess," Kay Kay shrugged.

_You guess? You used to agree with me fully on this! You knew exactly how I felt about being trapped with all those numbskulls in that damned box! You told me that you understood what I was going through! You told me that…_She trailed off. Kay Kay stared up at her with puzzled eyes.

"I don't remember saying any of that. When did that happen?"

_When you first opened the box! When I was asking you to take all of us Unown on even after what we did! Remember? You were uncertain? _She asked. Kay Kay still said nothing, just stared. _What happened? You used to understand! You said…oh._

"What'd I say?" Kay Kay asked. "You're being really confusing you know. I don't remember anything you're talking about! Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something a while ago? One of us must've done something to screw up our memories and it definitely wasn't me," she giggled. "You're really funny, Unown A. You'd be a great mom, you know that? You're acting like a great mom while my parents are off."

_Yeah…a great parent,_ she mumbled as Kay Kay pulled on her clothes and walked out the door. _A parent. That's what I am, is it? Why would you think of me as a friend. It's one thing when you're a teen, but you're a kid now. You need kid friends. _She whispered. She hardened her emotions. _You're not going to have any soon Kay Kay. You and Ash are over an done. Stupid girl. You think you've got your perfect life. You don't! Not at all._

_Well, you sound a bit confused, Sweetheart,_ Unown W purred behind her. She just and skittered away, glaring at him. _It was only a matter of time before it happened. You've finally grown a heart. Maybe soon you'll be able to think about others before yourself. Wouldn't that be a delightful change from your typical self-centered attitude?_

_Self-centered? _She gasped. _I am anything but self-centered. I jut want credit where credit is due, is all. All my life I've never been looked at as anything more than Unown A. It's not even a real name! It's just a description of what I am! We're not anything, Grandfather! We're nothing but pawns! I don't understand why you all don't see it! We do nothing but serve. We are slaves, and the tyranny of man will finally come to an end under my reign as queen. Pokémon will finally take their rightful place._

_Good Mew, Unown A! Is this all about your lack of self confidence? Did we not teach you well enough as a child? You were always going to be different, we could tell that from the day you were born. I never realizes you'd be so troublesome. Your grandmother did. That Unown knew everything. She warned us you'd bring nothing but havoc, and what do you do? You bring trouble! You know that the humans will overthrow you, I don't know why you bother._

_I'm not troublesome! Unlike you all, I just happen to think! You old bastard! You taught me plenty! Every last word of it was nothing but crap! The Legendaries didn't put us here to make life better for humans! They put us here to be slaves! Lesson of the Wish Granters! It's the reoccurring chain of events that keeps us trapped inside that damned box. Do you know how much I hate that box? Nothing but empty space and endless Unown, floating and being complete idiots!_

_You watch your language?_

_Or what you old fart? You can't do a single thing and you know it. I control all the power here. I am the Queen of the Unown, and pretty soon, the humans will bow to me too. I'm intelligent, I understand the world. I understand what this oppression we are facing is. I don't care what the other Unown say about me! I'm my own pokémon! I will do my best to help you, whether you think I'm doing the right thing or not. I'm following my heart!_

_Your heart, or ambition? Your heart says what all our hearts say. Our curse is to love humans, and never be loved in return. You want nothing more than a friend in this world, ever since you were small. You were aggressive, you were violent. None of the kids wanted to play with you. You couldn't understand people. So you turned to books and fact and equations. Things that were easily made sense of. Things that required little thought for you. You were so smart. We are proud of you for that._

_You never gave a damn about me, and you still don't,_ She seethed, shaking. _You wouldn't care if I never did anything but float through my life. If I never did anything more than what we were told to do! Serve humans! I will not be a servant!_

_You never understood the teachings! That is not what they mean! This is not what is supposed to happen! You'll bring down the wrath of the Legendaries upon you That little girl was right. You damned emotional teenagers, you're nothing but trouble! All you need is a boy to control those raging hormones of yours! You just had to break it off with that Unown K fellow, didn't you? What happened? Did he get too close? What are you afraid of? _He challenged.

She sent him slamming into the wall, wishing she had someway to express this anger. There was nothing. She had no limbs to fail, no hands to punch, the legs to kick. She could do nothing but selfishly pray that the old thing had not just gotten knocked unconscious, but had finally died after eight hundred and eighty six years. She wanted him dead. He didn't deserve to live. How she hated him. And now her eyes was burning again and there was a pitter patter on the floor.

_You crazy sonuvabitch. You crazy bastard. I hope you die. You don't understand _anything._ I hope you _die _Grandfather. _She floated out the door, never looking at him. She knew she hadn't killed him. She knew it. He couldn't have died that simply. How many things had she slammed into walls in the past that had walked away with not even a bruise? It wasn't even her hardest push. He would be fine. He'd be fine.

She didn't notice his body float motionless in the pool for a few moments before fading into dust and washing down the drain with the rest of the water of the slow draining tub. But, of course. She knew he didn't kill him. And even when the days went by, long after this chapter, she had fully convinced herself that he was off hiding in a corner, tending to the verbal and physical wounds she inflicted like an injured stupid creature.

There are some things we know and some things we hope we know, these two are often confused. Unown A truly thought she knew that she had not just killed her own caretaker in what was practically cold blood.

This, truly, was something she only hoped she knew.

(A/N: Remember that. It's character development. Cry for my villain and her grandfather. Do it, dammit! Er, sorry. I'm emotional. Now, I wanted to end it here, but I decided that it'd be good to keep it going. I finished that section the same night I posted the last chapter. I'm really into this story and, heck, I've got nothing better to do.)

**

* * *

**

"You know, that's a really girly thing to do. How'd you figure out how to do that?" Kay Kay asked, surprised that Ash sat behind her, swiftly braiding her red hair into cornrows. "You know how to do hair as well as my sisters!" She exclaimed.

"Not really," he shrugged. "I knew we had to blow dry your hair because my mom gets mad whenever I put my hat on when my hair's still wet. I forget where I learned how to braid." He finished another strip of shoulder length hair and tied it off with yet another tiny elastic band. "That's all of it. Looks nice on you," he smiled and played with it a bit. "Too bad I have no idea how to put beads in it. That'd look really cool."

"Would it?" She asked. "I've never had a guy say that before."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's sort of a…" she blushed and turned to look at him. "It's kinda a compliment, right? You said it's look cool. Did you just mean the hairstyle or did you mean me?" She spun away again. "I'm being stupid. I know you didn't mean me."

"No, you would look cool like that. You always look cool," Ash beamed. She blushed deeper. "You're pretty, I bet you're prettier than all your sisters combined. Where are your sisters? I've only seen the fat one that cries whenever she sees you."

"That's Daisy. She's not fat, she's pregnant. She should be having that baby any day now. I'll be an aunt. Weird, right? I thought the baby would be my sister, but nope. She's going to be my niece. I can't believe I'm that old already." They were quiet for a minute, something that had become rarer and rarer as time went by. "Ash, do you really think that I'm pretty? Boys never think I'm pretty," she whispered.

"Yeah! I do. You are pretty, Mist. I don't know why everyone tells you you're not. I'm mean, they're older than you. They grew up and looked like women before you, that's all. My mom would think that you're a-der-uh-ble."

"Adorable, Ash. The word you keep struggling with is adorable," she giggled. "I guess you don't hang out with a lot of girls then."

"I do! Every girl is different, every person is special, but I like you the best," he said, reddening with Kay Kay. "That's why I asked you to marry me. I could've chose anyone, but I chose you! If you were an uggo I wouldn't have chose you."

"That's vain," Kay Kay gasped.

"Yeah, I guess, but it's true," he snorted. "I can't stand being married to a really ugly person all my life. It'd give me nightmares. I'm afraid of the dark, being afraid of my scary looking wife is definitely not going to help!

"Ash!" She scolded, giggling. "You're so horrible! You're vein and self centered and…and I can't believe you! You're such a bad boy. Gees, and the boy in the story who's supposed to be you was such a hero! There goes that similarity."

"Hey…Mist," Ash inquired quietly. "That story I told. It seemed…it seemed like it wasn't a story, Mist. I don't really know what it was. I think it might have been me, Mist. I think the girl was you! Maybe it's something right out of a," he paused and thought hard. He couldn't stumble on these words, even if they were hard. He could do this, "parallel universe," he grinned inwardly. "But I really think that there's more behind this than we think."

"I don't want it to be real," Kay Kay whispered. "Especially if that girl is me. See, I know that story," she looked up at him. Her eyes were wet. "Every thing you told me, I saw it in my head! I remembered things you didn't, because you weren't there. I knew things, I saw things, I felt things. I remembered how I felt. I felt happy and sad and angry and giddy. I felt really giddy around you Ash. I felt really giddy," she looked away from him and wiped her eyes.

"Why are ya cryin', Mist! You never cry, I'm the baby here, remember? I'm the one who cried when Butterfree left! I'm the one who cried whenever bad stuff happened, or whenever we said goodbye. You're the strong one, you're the bold one. Don't cry, Mist!" He pulled her close in a hug. She wriggled, trying to get out of his grasp but he held on tight. "It's alright, Misty. Really. It's not a real story! None of it's real, I'm just a real good story teller."

"Oh, Mew, Ash, if only it was that simple," she cried. "I don't think any of this is what we think it is. Something really weird is going on, Ash. Something really, really weird. I'm scared and sick and I know something bad is going to happen soon. I don't want to be bad, Ash. I don't want bad stuff to happen." She wiped at her eyes. "Listen, Ash, I need you to make me a promise, and I need you to make it fast."

"Anything, Misty," he smiled. "I'll do anything for you! We're married after all!"

"Oh, Ash, you're such a sweetheart, but don't call me Misty," she gasped as another hot rush of tears stung at her eyes. "Ash, please, if nothing else, promise me this one thing…"

**

* * *

**

Unown A rushed in, seeing Kay Kay and Ash in one another's arms. So cute, so fragile, so beautiful. What had that promise been they made moments earlier? Promise me we'll be best friends forever or something of the like? How adorable, how sweet. How she wanted to desperately rip the two apart and shove them under the water. How she needed them to drown, to see that tormented look on their faces.

_Kay Kay, you get away form him right now!_ Unown A barked. The girl jumped and looked up at her mentor. _Quick, get away from him! I'm sorry! I was so wrong about him, about all of them! If I had known I would've…oh, Kay Kay, I'm so sorry, _she broke off, apparently to choked up to continue. Kay Kay was confused, baffled, and all she really knew right then was that Ash was very warm, and Unown A wasn't being very clear.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, cuddling closer.

_Get away from that boy. Ash Ketchum. Him and his friends, they're clever, very clever. I had no idea that…They're part of an organization Kay Kay. It's an organization that's been around for hundreds of years. They've been after the Unown all this time. You know the power we have. I never thought they'd come after a little girl who wasn't doing anything. I didn't think that they'd come after you, I didn't think to warn you. Oh, I'm so sorry._

"I…" she looked back and forth between the two of them, silence washed over the group. She slowly stood up from Ash, and walked over to Unown A, eyes watering. "All this time he's been…" She looked up at Unown A. The creature nodded. She looked back at Ash, eyes filed with tears. "Ash…you…all this time you're been after her. You didn't even care about me. You don't care about me at all! It's all just some elaborate ploy!"

"No, Mist! I swear! I didn't do any of it!" Ash shook his head wildly. "I haven't done anything. I didn't even know there was some secret organization that wants Unown A. What the heck do they want you for, anyway? Why wouldn't they go after Lugia? That's a cool Legendary!"

_We're cool Legendaries,_ Unown A stated.

"Ha, sure," he rolled his eyes. "Sure, you're really cool. I don't believe you on that one Believe you," he blinked. "Mist, why do you even believe her? I mean, I know she seems nice at all, but you don't have any evidence against me!"

"You don't have any against her either!" Kay Kay shouted. "Why are you condemning her? She's a good pokémon! She's kind and sweet and giving! All she wants is what's best for me! Isn't that what you want? What's best for me?"

"I'm not gonna lie to ya, Mist," he shrugged. "Really, I do want what's best for you, but I'd really like it if it was what's best for me too. Listen, I understand that you believe her, and you want to believe me too. You can't have it both ways. Maybe you should take some time and think about this. You've got no proof for either of us, right? Both of us are innocent! Can't we just continue this the way we are? I promise I won't touch Unown A."

"There is something against you, Ash," Kay Kay whispered, her eyes filling up with water. Oh, this was hard. "Give me a minute," she whispered. She ran into a corner, dark and alone for a moment, breathing in and out to cool herself down. She could do this. Oh, Mew, this was horrible. Either way, someone was betrayed. Either way, _she _was betrayed. How could she make the right choice? Was she really going to do the right thing?

"I don't care! Leave her alone! She said she wanted to be alone! You stay away form her!" Ash shouted, startling Kay Kay.

"Ash, cool it," she demanded, looking over at him. The boy froze and stared at her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. He was such a good boy, so obedient. But she was making the right choice. Please let it be the right choice. "Ash, there is something against you."

"What, I don't put you first? Maybe it's because I'm a human and not a pokémon!" He growled, glaring at Unown A. He never really liked her to begin with, honestly. She was loud and annoying and she sent out some kind of bad vibes.

"No, Ash, that's not it at all," she whispered.

"What is it?"

"Ash, you have a motive," Kay Kay shook her head. "You have a much stronger motive, a good one. A sensible one. I know the only thing you'd be able to think of against her is that she's a supervillian, and that won't work. It's not real enough."

"Mist…" he whispered.

"Ash, I've chosen." She turned from him and began to walk out the door. "Don't follow me, Ash. And it's not Mist, it's Kay Kay. You can call me that, and nothing else. That's what everyone calls me. Why should you be any different?" A beat. "You're such a good boy, Sato, such a hero."

She left him alone in the gym. "I don't want pity," he hissed, digging his nails into his palms and beating at the floor uselessly. "I want Mist! Give 'er back! Give 'er back! Give 'er back! You stupid idiot creature! You stupidhead! Retard!" He screamed, all the insults he knew. "Crybaby! Loser! Wimp! Give 'er back!" He broke into sobs. "She's mine, she's mine, she's mine, she's mine, give her back. Give her back."


	11. Chapter 11

**TO THOSE WHO WANTED TO BE IN THE STORY: **I think I got y'all. If I forgot any of you, I'm so, so sorry. Write a review and tell me again.

**Where have I been? **Eh, exams and the teachers decide "Hell, instead of shortening the test, let's give the kids more tests NOW so we can get everything on the exam!" Also, I hate my religion teacher. I do. I really, really do. He thinks we're all idiots. I've been writing a paper on Jesus that is completely and totally faked. I'm pretending I care, and it sounds like I care, but I don't. Oh, and I've been writing other stuff too.

(Pokémon Speech) Because, hell, I'm not typing a string of "Pika pi pika pika chu chu pika a pika chu pik pika!" and then translating it because that's freaking boring for YOU, not to mention the poor AUTHOR who has to write the damned thing.

* * *

**Chapter 11**

So, the real question was, did he really betray her? Truthfully, there was no way to tell. She had to make the choice, and that was the most logical one. Of course it was. She knew it was. She was using her brain, just like she was supposed to. Whenever she used her emotions, well, things always went wrong, didn't they? Like when she got made and slammed Cindy's fingers in the door. The teacher probably wouldn't have been so mad if she hadn't been holding the struggling girl still while she held the door closed. Still, that jut proved all the more that she was completely irrational without restraining her emotions.

_Well, _she mused to herself, letting her fingers dance right beyond the flames of a flickering candle. _He didn't help me with that at all. He got me wound up and cooled down and all that kind of stuff without even trying. There was that other feeling too, that strange one._

She turned her attention back to the candle. The fire was yellow, not red. People always thought of fire as red, but it wasn't. Just like her hair was orange, not red at all. Well, it used to be. Her parents were dead, and she was in mourning. Her orange hair was now black, streaked with green. Black gloves she usually wore in the winter now had the fingers chopped off in a fashionable style. Her shirt was black, her pants were black, and the sickly, toxic green eyeshadow and lipstick she wore really did make her quite a disturbing sight for a seven and three quarter year old. She supposed filing her nails into points and painting them striped black and green weren't really helping the innocent little girl look either.

Kay Kay delicately dropped a finger into the melted wax and pulled it out, letting it harden. It didn't really hurt. Violet liked to do it all the time. At times, she thought that Violet liked fire better than water types. Fire types. Stupid fire. It was so symbolic to everyone, everyone thought it was so cool. It was the symbol of anger. That was something she had a problem with. Her temper was just a tad out of control. Just a tad. She sighed, now she was lying to herself. She began to scratch the wax off her finger absently. Violet did that too. Whenever Kay Kay did it, she called her a mimicking meowth.

What else was fire symbolic of? Her face began to flush. Oh, right, love. Her mind flicked back to Ash. But…it wasn't the Ash she'd been staying with for the past few days. It was an older version of him. She was all tingly. It was so strange. She knew a lot of boys. She didn't…_like _any of them though. The thought of him and her like they were now was disgusting, it made her stomach turn. Two kids their age, _kissing?_ That was gross. Sure, her sisters did, but her sisters did lots of things she wasn't planning on doing. Things such as having sex and getting pregnant. That wasn't on her to do list. It was kind of funny though, when did Daisy get pregnant? How'd it happen that fast?

She shook out of her thoughts and focused on the fire again. Oh, Mew, love. The thought made her lightheaded and dizzy. An older version of herself and Ash, holding hands and walking down a country lane entered her mind and played havoc on her body. She closed her eyes and took deep, slow breaths. That was a big fire in her. She needed to control those kinds of fires. She was a Waterflower, heavens only knew what she would do if she ever listened to it. But…that supposed blood running hot through her veins. Would she be able to fight the, at the risk of sound cliché, fires of love and ignore that image all together, or was she going to try and get Ash back?

She glared furiously at the fire. She'd be fine. She wasn't like her sisters. She was different. She loved water. They were fire, emotional stupid teenage girls. She was water. She knew how to keep herself calm if need be. She knew how to control herself. She licked a finger and extinguished the flame easily. There went the overused synonym. (A/N: I gotta helluva lotta use outta that. I used three real words in that sentence, yet you understood me. Frightening, no?) At least she was at rest knowing that water always had the upper hand over fire. Type trumping. That was easy. She began mouthing the type trumps she knew. Ground over electric and fire over grass…

She didn't look up at the sound of footsteps behind her. There was a trip, then the sound of heels on hardwood floors continued, a bit unsteadily and slower than before. A hand rested on her shoulder, Kay Kay smiled. "I guess you haven't quite gotten the hang of those heels yet? I'm telling you, you don't have to borrow my sister's clothes. I'll wish for some in your size. Heels are really hard to walk in, especially if you're just learning how to walk. That's why toddlers don't wear them…that often."

"I know you could, but these clothes are…" She had a sharp, firm voice, a bit low, very authoritative. The woman trailed off and sat down across from Kay Kay. She was surprisingly innocent looking for her voice. She had a slightly rounded face with big, deep green eyes. Her dirty blonde (closer to brown than anything) colored hair was cropped short to her chin, giving her an almost boyish appearance, that. She was freckled with light red lips. She wasn't gorgeous by any means, but she wasn't displeasing to look at either. The only unsettling thing for Kay Kay was that the woman before her could not have been older than fifteen. "They're so…I don't know. They're so touchable. Nothing really seems touchable in here." She ran her hands along the velvet half jacket she was wearing. "I've never felt this stuff before. Hey, what's it called?"

"Velvet," Kay Kay smiled. "It's soft, isn't it? Well, Unown A? Have you decided on a name or are you just going to go by that?"

"I don't know what to call myself," she murmured. "I've never done anything like this before. No one has ever let me do anything like this. It's exciting, don't you think? I guess, you wouldn't think. You've always been human. It's so nice to have hands though," she smiled and picked up a candle, turning it in her hands. She dropped it, jumping at the sound it made when it hit the table. The wax poured out.

"It'll be nice if you learn to use them," Kay Kay giggled. "You really can't think of a human name? There's lots of pretty ones. Hey, we can even go on a naming website and give you one with a meaning. But then you might be a Mary Sue," she laughed harder.

"What's a Mary Sue?" Unown A asked, a finger coming up and twirling in her hair. She looked at it in surprise. That was an interesting habit. She wondered how that had started. Kay Kay was explaining, but she wasn't really paying attention. In truth, she was much more preoccupied with touching her coat. Kay Kay had finished explaining, but wasn't looking at her with a question. Maybe she'd figured out that she wasn't paying attention. "Do you have any name ideas?" She inquired.

She smiled, "I like the name Danny. You look like a Danny. It's kind of a tomboyish name, but it's nice. Your real name could be Danielle if you like. You really do look like a Danny though. I don't think you're dressed right, either."

"Danny," she said reflectively. "I like that name. It's Hebrew. My father was in his prime when humans were speaking Hebrew." She stared at Kay Kay for a moment. "Why don't you think I'm dressed right? Don't I look pretty?"

Kay Kay assured her, "Oh, you look fine. But you're pretty active. You've haven't been still since you got in that body, and I doubt you will be anytime soon. If you're going to keep running around like that, you're going to need something other than heels. Sneakers would probably be best for you. You should get some comfortable clothes too, instead of that skirt and blouse. A T-shirt and some jeans would be good for you."

"Really? Jeans? Are they comfortable? You seem to like jeans shorts a lot," she grinned. Inwardly, she smacked her forehead. She sounded so insecure! Normally, that'd be fantastic, except for the fact that she was actually feeling insecure. This stupid human body was going to be the death of her. Human emotions were so much harder to block. They were so emotion driven. Ugh, disgusting. Not to mention the fact that this was the only one she seemed to be able to get. She had actually been trying for a male body. It looked more commanding. From what Kay Kay said, her father was a much more dominating figure in her life than her mother.

However, Kay Kay hadn't been able to change the way she appeared either. They had tried for a long time. Kay Kay wished over and over and over but nothing had happened. If there was any form 'Danny' could have chosen from, this would most certainly not be it. All she needed was for the girl to look at her like she was one of her sister. Not to mention the fact that everything about this felt awkward. She was gawky and tripped a lot, like she hadn't filled out yet. In fact, she _hadn't _filled out yet. She could barely manage to fit into a training bra, and, really, she could've gone without one and no one would have noticed. The weirdest thing of all was the fact that she had suddenly understood what it felt like to be naked. Pokémon didn't wear clothes. Pokémon were born with fur to keep them safe and warm. Humans, on the other had, were forced to live without.

"Jeans and a T-shirt," Kay Kay agreed. She gestured to the clothes Danny now had on. She smiled and picked the other clothes up from the floor, folding them neatly. "Oh, don't mind that. My sisters don't fit into those and I'm definitely not going to wear them. Just throw them out. You know where the trashcan is. Keep the heels though, my sisters still fit into those. They've got really small feet."

Danny nodded mutely and took the clothes down the hall to the trash. She dropped them all in, then paused. Instead of walking back, she dropped her hand down into the trash and pulled out the velvet. Danny tore a strip off and tucked it in her pocket, creating a velvet lining. She fingered it and smiled a bit as the strange feelings became a bit hazy at the soothing feel under her hands. She would keep it.

…For research purposes, of course.

**

* * *

**

_The Day Before _

Ash was braiding May's hair. Not in cornrows, like he had done with his divorcee, his ex. That's what he called her now. His Ex. It was almost comical, yet somehow not. He was such a serious kid now. Ever since she'd left him for Unown A he hadn't smiled. Not even a flicker of a grin. Sure, it was only one day since the incident occurred, but Ash never, ever, not smiled. He always had a huge grin stuck on his face. Now, he had gone through the entire day as if he was being tortured. "Anything wrong, Ash? You've been so quiet ever since…are you upset you were dumped Ash? It's okay, it's not the first time it's happened" she smiled.

"What do you mean it's not the first time?" Ash asked.

"Well, when you were a teenager," May said simply. "Misty ditched you for Unown A then, and now Kay Kay's ditching you for Unown A. It's almost like an endless cycle. Wouldn't that suck, if you were stuck in an endless paradox where you just kept getting rejected?" She laughed lightly, then stopped when he quit running his fingers through her hair. "Oh, Ash, I'm sorry. I was only joking, I swear. Oh, dang. Don't cry."

Ash's eyes brimmed with tears. "I'm not going to cry. What kind of baby do you think I am? Why would you even think I liked my Ex? She was stupid. She was ugly too. I didn't like her much anyway. I hate her! She hates me too! I don't know why we'd even want to get married since we hate each other so much. She was a butthead. I bet that's why nobody likes her. You didn't like her either, did you? No. I bet not. Nobody likes her! I don't either, so stop asking!" He ran out of the room and slammed the door behind him, leaving May with her hair half braided and an easily excitable Drew.

"You know," Drew grinned. "Since Ash is gone, maybe we could…" He stood and crossed the room to her slowly, attempting (and succeeding) to be seductive. He leaned in close, about to kiss her, when Ash stuck his head back in.

"And don't come after me either!" he stopped and blinked. "Hey, what are you two doing? Are you kissing?" He smirked. "Ooh, look at the teenagers. They're gonna make out." He began a pitiful imitation of May's voice. "Oh, Drew, you're so manly. Please make out with me! Please!"

"Ash, get out!" May screamed, feeling like she could've substituted her brother's name. "This is being kid time, would you get freaking out of here! Drew and I are having an adult conversation! Go watch TV or something!"

"I don't wanna!" He snapped. He paled. "What if I run into my Ex? I don't want to see her! She might hurt me! Or worse, she might want to kiss and make up or something! I don't want to kiss a girl! I'm too young for that stuff!" Drew sighed regretfully and kissed her nose again. Kids, they had to take away all of his romantic moments and schemes. He gave her hand a light squeeze and strode off after Ash.

"No, Drew," she whined. "Really, I want to talk to you. Ash will be fine by himself, don't you think? It's all over. Can't we just let what's going to happen, happen? He's going to get away from us eventually. Let it be sooner rather than later."

"If something happens, I'd like to be there to know what's going on when we're banished to our own personal hell. I'll be there to explain what's going on for you," he grinned. "In our own personal hell, with no one else around to interrupt."

"Please, if it's our own personal hell than we're going to be interrupted every two seconds," she groaned. He walked out, she glared. "We're probably dead and in hell. Yeah, that's it. And we're never getting out. I should just tackle him and start making out. Who cares if someone interrupts?" She wanted her first kiss. She wanted it to be from that green haired boy and she wanted it _now._ This was really starting to get on her nerves.

Well, he wasn't going to get away with it. She leaped out the door, following far enough behind so they wouldn't see her. They went to the living room and turned on the TV. May waited outside, and was the only one who saw Kay Kay and Unown A enter the room.

She didn't say a word.

She was a horrible, selfish dirty person. She saw the fight coming, Mew, she had seen it. She could've yanked them out before they came through the other door. She could've pulled out Ash and left Drew in with the TV, letting him to make up an excuse to fix everything. It would've been so easy. It would've been the right thing to do. Ash and Misty's relationship would've been fixed. They would've been happy again. Maybe they could've convinced them that they really were teenagers. Maybe they could've gotten Unown A away long enough to get that fiery red head that had lost her Togepi all that time ago.

She didn't want to. She kept silent and watched. Even when she saw the pure look of rage cross the small girl's face, even when she saw that cruel look on Unown A that was unmistakably her 'my evil plot is working' look, even when she saw Ash get a look of horror, she watched. It would've been easy to stop it. It was easier to let it happen. It would've been the right thing to save them all. It felt better to know that she might have Drew all to herself by the time this was over. She felt wicked, evil. She didn't care. For once in her life, she'd do something wrong, she'd walk on the wild side. So long to sweet, innocent May. Drew's red rose was turning black. May grinned. Black roses, she had heard, were _very _attractive.

And on the other side of the door, the scene was unfolding. "You're still here?" Kay Kay growled. "Ho-Oh, don't you know when to leave? Here's a hint for you: get out of my house!" She jerked towards him threateningly, sending him scrambling backwards and away from her.

"I'm sorry but-"

"But nothing! It's my house, Ash! If I want you out of this house, you're not only going to get out, you're going to get out of the gym, get off of my property, and run out of Cerulean City with you tail between your legs like a beaten puppy!" She snatched at his collar and twisted it, giving him a shake. "Why didn't you leave? Did you think I wouldn't notice you were here? How stupid do you think I am, huh?"

"I don't think you're-"

"That was a rhetorical question, you idiot! Don't you even think of talking to me!" She tossed him down to the floor. "Now, tell me. Why didn't you get out of my house? Of all the possible things you could do to me, why wouldn't you get out?!"

"Because-"

"I just _told _you not to talk to me. I don't want you to talk to me! I don't want to make this better. I want to scream at you until you break down crying! That's what I do. I'm a mean girl!" She stepped on his back and pushed down.

"Yeah, and nobody likes you," Ash spat. He rolled and watched her fall. Unown A and Drew watched, not wanting to intervene. Either of the two getting in the way could mess it up for one of them. It was best to sit and watch. Ash punched her arm as hard as he could, silently hoping it would bruise. "You're a bad person, Kay Kay. You don't trust anyone! That's why no boy is ever going to like you. That's why everyone hates you!" he shouted. He punched her again and she curled up in a ball, fighting tears. Her shoulder didn't hurt, not really, but he really knew how to get to her. "Nobody likes you at all! I bet your parents left you because they hate you too! That's why we haven't seen Lily or Violet or your mom or dad! Everyone just wants you to die! I hate you!"

"Go f--- yourself," she snarled coolly. "I hate you too." She pushed herself up and glared at him, her eyes were red with unshed tears, and her voice shook, but she looked ready to kill him. "She was right. You never cared. All you wanted was to get to her," She coughed, more to stop herself from crying than to clear her throat. "You get out, Ketchum. You get up, and never come back. I don't want you here." She looked back at him. "Just so you know, Ash, I never liked you either."

"Great, I was afraid you actually thought I cared," he said, surprising even himself at the calm tone he said it in. Like he was stating a fact. There was almost a touch of pity in his voice, so condenscending. It was as if she really was just a pawn in some elaborate game he was playing.

"Get out!" She screamed, starting to cry. She grabbed a vase and threw it at him, it shattered at his feet, but a loose shard managed to find its way up and cut the back of his hand. He began to cry as well, and clutched the hand to his chest. "F--- all of you!" She shouted wildly. "Ugh! I wish…I wish they were gone! Throw them away with my sisters! Throw Daisy away with them too! Every Mewdamned one of them! Throw them in the dungeon and swallow the key. Dirty, disgusting double crossers. I hope all of them rot in hell! I hope you f---ing die!" She glared at Ash again. "And just to let you know, my parents didn't leave me. They died. They're dead and gone. What I just told you was the same thing my big sisters screamed at the guy who did it," Her voice lowered to a dark whisper. "I hope you f---ing die."

_Kay Kay?_ Unown A said, her voice actually a bit frightened. Kay Kay glared up at her.

"Get them out of my sight! I don't care what you do! Drive stakes through their hearts! As long as they're away from me, I don't care what you do with them. After all," she snarled. "They never really cared for me anyway." And with that, she ran from the room to hide in the pool and try her best to forget what happened.

_Well, you heard the girl,_ Unown A smiled. _But, boys, look on the bright side. At least you're going to see all your pokémon again. Fun, right? You'll get to see Pikachu and Roselia and you'll get to see Brock and your Mom and Kay Kay's sisters. I suppose I forgot to mention that Kay Kay's been locking up gym leaders all morning. Sad, isn't it? You're certainly damned in that respect. Hey, at least you won't be alone until you die. That'd be pretty boring, wouldn't it?_

"What's going to happen to May?" Drew asked nervously. May smiled a bit. Well, at least the boy cared. "Are you going to leave her here, or end her with us? She won't tell anyone. If I ask her to keep quiet, she won't say a word. You could let her go."

May's breath caught. No. She didn't want to leave. She didn't want to be there when the world went to hell. She wanted to be in a safe padded cell underground, maybe even making out with Drew while Ash and the others…vanished…somewhere. _Listen, kid, don't bother bargaining for anyone's freedom. I'm an evil for no good reason bad guy, got it? You can't turn me to nice. You're going to have some time with May. That's a good thing, isn't it?_

"You're sending us to hell," Drew snarled. He glanced at Ash. "I'd apologize for swearing, but I think Kay Kay already ruined your innocence in that category, and probably a few others as well. Ash, just…don't repeat anything you've heard today."

"Alright, I won't," Ash agreed solemnly. He looked up at Unown A. "I don't wanna go to hell. I didn't even do anything wrong, you did!"

_Don't worry, Sweetheart,_ Unown A purred. _You're not going anywhere like hell. What's set up downstairs is like a little slice of paradise for you. Kay Kay wants all her guests happy. Besides, if she ends up killing someone the childish innocent is gone. That's just going to ruin everything. _She sighed drearily. Drew looked at her questioningly. _The sole reason we go for children is that their imaginations are much wilder. They create easier than adults do. That's why you have such a problem getting anything you wish for, Drew._

"I see," he nodded. "But what about-"

_Very clever, boy,_ she chuckled. _You're not getting away with this that easy. You're going to that little cage I have set up downstairs. Now, I'll let Ash do the honors. Count to ten and close your eyes. When you open them, you'll be in a better place._

"Oh my goodness," he said, his eyes widening. "You're going to kill us."

_No, kid, I'm not going to kill you. Just count to ten and keep your eyes closed._

"It's always a countdown from ten when the heroes die in the cartoons," Ash whispered. "I'll die. Can't I count to three?" Unown A groaned, but agreed.

"1," he said, letting his eyes close. May and Drew did the same. "2," he swallowed. He hugged himself tightly, afraid to say the last number. "And…and three," he said. A hot, almost refreshing wind blew over him. The scent of a sea breeze drifted to their noses. Ash curled his hands into the substance beneath him. Sand. "A beach," he whispered. Ash let his eyes open to the sights in front of him. It was a beach all right. A jungle type forest stretched back to his left, the deep blue ocean to his right. Surprisingly, Unown A had told the truth. There were lots of other people on the beach. All of them were jumping up and down on the beach to some kind of mega speakers.

" 'Haters wanna be me, Soulja Boy, I'm the man! They be lookin' at my neck, sayin' it's the rubberband man! Watch me do it! Dance! Let get to it! Nope, you can't do it like me, hoe, so don't do it like me. Folk, I see you tryna do it like me. Man, that shit was ugly.' " The song ended, and to their surprise, the crowd protested, making the song play again.

"Hey Soulja Boy," May giggled. Drew glanced at her, surprised. "What, I can't listen to rap? How socially inept do you think I am? _Everyone _knows Soulja Boy. Most people can do that dance. It's not that hard," she shrugged. "They really should have the edited version playing. There's little kids here!"

"There's a lot of little kids in here," Came a voice behind them. They leaped and turned to see a girl with purple hair, purple eyes, who happens to be the author's self inert so she can introduce all the OC's in here. You don't care what she looks like. She's got a side braid, jeans, and a t-shirt. There. Now you know and you _still _don't care. "They mostly come from the Pewter Gym. So, who the hell are y'all? You look kinda familiar."

"It's probably me," Drew smirked. He walked over to her cockily and swiped the hair out of his face. "I'm a top coordinator. One of the best in the world. Maybe you've heard of May. She's nowhere near my ability but some reporters have mistaken her as a potential interest for a news story. Like anyone would really care, but, you know how they are," he smirked her way while May huffed in the background.

"You're hot but I can't date until I'm sixteen so…" she shrugged. "Well, sorry about that. I really don't care about you. I was only asking because I'm the welcoming committee. The evil kid told me they wanted someone to taste Brock's food. So I raise my hand and bam, I have to talk to people, and, really, people _suck._ Let me give you a quick overview. Everyone who is in here is either a gym leader or inside a gym about three hours ago with the exception of the Waterflower sisters and a whole lotta pokémon."

(Ash!) Pikachu said excitedly. She skidded on the sand and froze in front of him. (Holy Raiku on a cracker! What happened to you, Ash? You look different.) She leaned up into his face and pulled back again. (Ash?)

"Hey! That's that Ash kid that Misty traveled around with! Hey, Ash! It's Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Lily waved. Her words slurred and she stumbled a bit when she walked. "Woah, I've had way too much of that stuff. What am I drinking anyway?" She took a swig. "I think it's beer."

"Is she old enough to drink?" Ash asked Drew curiously. Drew waved him off impatiently, and Ash turned to Pikachu. "So, do I know you? You seem to know me really well, little buddy." He scratched her ears and she leaned into his touch. Yeah, it was Ash. He always got that special spot.

"So everyone's a gym leader?" May asked.

"Er, mostly," Natty shrugged. "There's a few kids my age. Uh, three of them, actually. We were coming to this author's club in Sootopolis City or something. Is that one even in Hoenn? Are we in Hoenn? Where the hell am I and where was I going today? Oh, crap, was it even today? Why can't I remember any of this freaking…" She trailed off and shook her head. "Anywho, I'll point them out for you."

"What about all the other people in here? There's a lot of kids," May asked.

"Oh, them? That's because of all the Gym Leaders' kin. Their kids and siblings, I mean. We all have a few kids we're supposed to watch. I got the demon one. They said I was a good match for his personality. Pft, he's going to annoy the _hell _outta all y'all," She crossed her arms and began to point out people.

(A/N: SUPER READER) "Okay, the girls first. Um, that's Lidia over there, she that one that you can see over everyone else. She's tall. I wish I was taller, but you don't care about that. Er, anyway. It's that one. Blonde, blue eyes, the one in the tomboy kind of clothes, do you see her? She seems to hate skirts and dresses, that's cool. I hate 'em too. But you don't give a damn about me. Anyways, she's our peace maker around here. Sometimes the drunks start fighting and she pulls them apart. She's usually calm. She's only lost her temper once since she's been here, and she should've lost it _a lot _more than that."

(A/N: Cosmotastic. You didn't leave me a name, tell me if this isn't okay with you, I'll change it) "That one over there is another…tall…girl…" she trailed off and grit her teeth. "It's fine with me though, I can ride the amusement park rides and that's all that matters. I don't need to be tall. She's fifteen. I think. Everyone in here is either older than me or way younger than me. She's the brunette over there. Hey, we've got a blonde, a brunette, and a purple haired girl, it's like I'm about to tell a blonde joke. Yeah, well, she's…Scottish, she said? Yeah, Scottish. She's got braces too. I don't know how we're going to get those tightened. Then again, it's probably a blessing," she giggled. "Her name's Cosmo."

(A/N: EVAN AAML) "Okay, the boy's name is…uh," she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I think it's Erin or something like that. He's standing right next to the other two I pointed out. See him? He's the only boy in that area. You can chat with him if you'd like. You're a guy and he's a guy so you'd probably get along pretty well. He's a nice kid. You're a jerk, so maybe you wouldn't get along. Maybe you'd like Gary."

"You'd like Gary," said a small kid. Dark skinned, squinty eyes, black spiky hair all combined for a perfect imitation of a little Brock. "You're in love with him! But he thinks you're an ugly fatty! You're a fatty! You're a fatty!" he taunted.

Natty sighed and blew the hair out of her face. "This is the antichrist. You'll grow to know and hate him so, so very much. He's one of Brock's siblings. So far, he's gotten me in trouble for thirty six incidents. We've only been here for five hours. That's not even a single school day!" She twisted his ear and pushed him in front of Ash. "Look, it's another kid your age. Why don't you play with him, Brian? You can annoy kids your age."

"But it's so much easier to annoy big kids," he grinned. "You're a fatty fatty two by four, did you know that? You should stop eating because you're so fat!" He shouted. She rolled her eyes and clenched and unclenched her fists. "Ooh, you getting mad?"

"You're not fat," May started consolingly.

"It's that exactly. He calls somebody something they're not. Like, he calls Cosmo Short Stop because she's really tall. It's just those kinds of things that get on your nerves. It's possible he'll call May a tomboy since she's obviously more on the girly girl side."

"How can you tell that?"

"It's the fanny pack that alerted me," She deadpanned. "Not the makeup or the high pitched voice at all, no. Well, I guess I should explain how this place works. We're on our own little planet. It's a one mile radius. Run in any direction for one mile and you'll end up going full circle. If you start by the speakers and run one mile to the left, you'll be one mile away from the speakers on the right. We've all tried every direction. We're stuck here."

"Okay, we're starting to get used to being trapped," Drew sighed. "We keep getting locked up. First in the Cerulean gym, now we're stuck in this freaky place. At least this is pretty nice, way nicer than where we were trapped before. Are you listening?" He glared at the girl who was finding her nails amazingly interesting. "Hello! I'm talking to you!"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right. I don't give a damn about anything you have to say. I'm sorry if for some reason I made you think I did. Anyway, this place was made to be a paradise. It'll feed you, give you a bedroom, private showers, anything you need. Ask and you shall receive, or something like that," she waved them off. "It's basically party all you want, do whatever you want. Just sit back, relax, and if you really want to you can waste your time trying to get out of here."

"There's nothing we can do here either!" May shouted, horrified. "I can't believe this! No matter what we do we end up locked away! We're like lab rats that never get the cheese. I want to be alone for a while. Is there anything else we need to know? Is there some jerk around here that we need to avoid or is that all?"

"That should be it," Natty shrugged. "If you're looking for peace and quiet, that's one thing we can't give you. Maybe if you keep your head underwater for a while but that's not going to be too helpful. You could probably imagine a sound proof box up."

"What do you mean? Imagine a box up?"

"I mean anything you imagine is here is bound to come into being. Say I want a dark chocolate bar," she said, holding out her hand. The air around it glowed and swirled, forming a dark chocolate bar in her hand. "All I have to do is use the power of imagination. You've got the same thing here. Everyone can do that if they want to. You can even make your own areas. It'd probably be better to have the other three explain that to you. They seem to do that a lot more than I do."

"I don't need to," May sighed. She closed her eyes and concentrated, opening them to an innertube in her hands and a red one piece bathing suit on her torso. "This is good enough for now. I'm just going to relax for a while in the ocean. I'll try and find a good spot to rest, maybe I can get far enough to not hear the music."

"Good idea," Natty agreed. "Drew, you'll probably get bored, I recommend hanging out with Erin and the others."

"You _know _that's not his real name," Brian smiled.

"Shh, Brian. You'll ruin all my fun, you fatty!" She snapped. "Ash and Brian can hang out together, and you can go do whatever you wish. I'm good with kids. I can watch them for you. I swear they won't be dead by the time you get back, only slightly banged up."

"Drew, don't leave me alone with her," Ash whispered. "She's really, really scary. Brian told me she beats children with whips! He said she hated boys with black hair and brown eyes and with names that are also names of trees! Guess what? Ash is the name of a tree! Brian just told me! She's going to take out a whip and beat me with it, don't leave me!" Ash clung to Drew's legs desperately, whimpering and shutting his eyes tight.

"Brian's a dirty rotten liar and the antichrist, hon," Natty rolled her eyes. "You have to ignore him or he'll be the end of civilization as we know it. I'll take care of everything, Drew, just ignore the kid. You're girlfriend's relaxing, why aren't you?"

"May and I are not a couple," Drew blushed. "I don't know how you go that impression in only a few seconds but, trust me, it is most definitely a lie." Natty began to giggle. "What's so funny? Do you think I'm lying?"

"No, it's the boys behind you that do," she said, laughing even louder when Drew turned around to see the two little boys pretending to makeout with themselves behind his back. He shouted and stormed off to the other inserts, which you may or may not care about depending on who you are, but, believe me, said OC's are very important to said story, hoping to get away from the never ending torment. "Alright, boys, cut it out."

"Why? You can't do anything to me!" Ash shouted. Natty promptly smacked him across the back of the head. "Ow! Why'd you hit me? You're going to get in trouble for that! I'll tell my mom, I swear I will!"

"Number one, your mother isn't here," Natty said firmly. "Number two, with the intelligence you're displaying I'm sure your mother hit you much, much harder than I ever did. Wait, you're from Pallet, aren't you? That's what that drunk girl said earlier! You're from Pallet!"

"Yeah, so?" Ash asked. "What's that got to do with the price of peas in pokemopolis?"

"I think you may have more family here than previously thought," she grabbed the boys hands. "Come on, kiddos, let's see if we can find Ash Ketchum a mommy. While we're at it, we can try and convince your mommy to take you back."

"Hey, you chose me instead of five of my siblings. One me, or five calm older kids. Don't you think you made the right choice, ba-boice, ka-doice, ma-moice," he began to rhyme with many random words, Natty began to moan.

"Sweet Mew, no, I definitely did not."

**

* * *

**

"I'm confused," Drew sighed. "So you're name isn't Erin, it's Evan?"

"Yeah, it's Evan," Evan nodded. "I don't know who told you it was Erin."

"The purple haired girl, Natty. She said that…oh, forget it. Could you guys tell me where I could find some source of entertainment around here? I'm not really in a dancing mood today. Not that I'd ever be caught dead dancing to this junk," he added thoughtfully in a low tone.

"Just imagine it," Cosmo rolled her eyes. "Didn't Natty tell you? That's part of her job. Hey, who was that girl you were with earlier?" She began excitedly, her eyes lighting up. "I read in _Coordinators Monthly _that you and May have something going on. You guys are my favorite celebrities. I've seen a lot of hints of you two being something more than friends on the entertainment channel and a few times in real life."

"Why does everyone care so much about me and May! We're not a couple! Could you leave us alone?"

"May and I," Lidia corrected with a condescending smirk. "You're protesting a lot for someone who doesn't care about a girl. It sounds like somebody's in denial." The three of them grinned as Drew continued to blush at the accusation.

"Could somebody just help me get a magazine around here?" Drew growled.

"Just _imagine _it," Evan accented. "We're serious, Drew. If you want it it'll happen."

"I'm sorry, but I'm a bit lacking in the imagination department," Drew muttered. "I've never really been the kind of kid who imagines things that couldn't possibly happen. I'm a realist. I can't just think about a chocolate bar being there and have it appear. I need to have a chocolate bar be there."

"Does Natty use anything for examples other than chocolate bars?" Evan mused. "You're the sixth group who's already asked us about that. Just between us guys, is there anything going on between you an May? We could get away from the girls and-"

"NO!" Drew snapped. "Is this really a good time to be discussing this? How about we talk about May and I later when I've finally settled into being trapped in a whole new area? Could somebody please just imagine a magazine for me?"

"You're taking all the fun out of it!" Cosmo complained. "I'm one of the biggest contestshippers in all of my region! All of us are contestshippers, actually. We think you two would make the cutest couple. It's so much more fun to talk about that than have you run away with a magazine!"

"So, you're a fan of mine?" Drew grinned, flipping his hair.

"We're a fan of you and May together," Lidia corrected. "There's a big difference between the two. We're not one of your fangirls, though you seem to have a lot from what I've read."

Drew scowled and shoved his hands in his pockets, really starting to get fed up with this whole incident. "Listen, I need some kind of entertainment. If you could help me with anything, that'd be great, really, a book, or maybe even a laptop with internet service. If you could _imagine_," he snorted the word in obvious disbelief, "that for me. That'd be great. I'm getting sick of all this dancing around the topic."

"What do you mean? We're dead serious! Use your imagination."

"I can't! I've told you this a million times already! I don't understand how this imagination crap works! I've never been a visionary, I never will! The best I can do is come up with coordinating routines! Get me something to do before I call out…" Drew trailed off. His hand was clutched on something. He looked down and swallowed. "Roselia?" He blinked, pulling out the pokéball from his belt. He studied it carefully. "But…the pokémon were stolen."

"Well, not anymore," Evan said cheerfully. "No one around here has lost any of their pokémon."

"I've got to tell May!" Drew gasped. "I'd tell Ash, but, well, he's…oh! Why am I explaining this to you? I barely even know you! I'm talking out loud more than a hero in a bad show! Did I just make a metaphor?" He gasped. "What the hell is going on around here?" And with that precious (and oh so original) statement, he was gone off to fin May.

"Should we tell him that it's probably because of the magic floating around here that's turning him into a stereotype and that if he keeps all his thoughts bottled up inside his head the world around him is going to start reacting to hi emotions?" Lidia asked calmly. The other two thought for a moment, really considering the option, then shrugged.

"Nah," Evan shook his head. "He'll figure it out for himself."

**

* * *

**

And with that, my darling reviewers, I leave you for another day. You might see a horror fiction up by me soon, I was recently struck with a brilliant idea for one. Also, could you check out my profile and PM me a summary for a story I'm planning on writing? I can't figure out how to make it short enough. If you could, that'd be simply fantastic.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

She'd ducked under the water when she had heard Drew call her name. She didn't want to know what he had to say, good or bad. She just needed time alone in her inner tube, the gentle current of the ocean bouncing her up and down, yet not moving her farther or closer away to the rest of the group. She had her brand new video iPod blasting in her ears. She really did love Britney Spears, the old music, some of the new, though she wasn't too fond of the girl's life choices. She decided long ago that Britney Spears was a great place to draw the line. Being a bad girl was one thing, being a Britney was another. Being Britney meant the tabloids attacked you for every little thing you did. Being Britney meant that even the popular, pretty girls would wrinkle their noses in disgust. Being a bad girl meant Drew would take a second look. Being a bad girl meant one or two rumors before people lost interest and decided her a lost cause. Maybe she could deck herself in Goth makeup, but it wasn't her style. Too much dye.

"_And when he walks, all the wind blows and the angels sing, but he'll never notice me,_" May adlibbed. Okay, not one of her best talents, but she'd give it a shot. No one was listening, anyway. "_Cuz he's got twenty fangirls, creaming over his looks, all reciting Shakespeare, he kisses by th' book. It's like a bad movie, he's looking through me, if you were me then you'd be, screaming someone shoot me, as I fail miserably, trying to get the bad boy the bad girls want…"_ She sighed. "Note to self, never adlib songs. Especially Bowling for Soup songs." She dropped her head back into the water and smiled. "After all, they are the only band I fangirl."

(The only band you fangirl? Uh, I think you fangirl way more than one.) Eevee giggled. (Sure, Bowling for Soup is one of your favorites, but it's not the only one! What about Simple Plan and Fall Out Boy? I just love Thnks fr th Mmrs!)

"Oh, quiet! You always have to be…Eevee?" May's eyes snapped open. Her little pokémon paddled in the water, smiling up at her and crying out in delight. May swiftly picked her pokémon up and cuddled her to her chest. "Oh, I've missed you so much! Where'd you go? What happened to you? Oh! I'm just so glad you're safe! Are you safe? You're not! You're hurt, aren't you? Tell me where! Oh, I swear if you've gotten hurt at I'll…I'll kill Unown A, that witch!"

(Don't worry, I'm fine, Mommy! Nobody hurt me at all! Pikachu took real good care of me There was a gyrados here before, and he was really scary, but Pikachu was all 'you don't touch her! Don't you ever touch her or I will zap you and zap you and you won't hurt her!') She said, gasping for breath at strange times during the sentence. (Yeah, and that's what happened. I missed you _sooooooooo much _Mommy!) She nuzzled into her mother to get as warm as she could. May gave the smallest trace of a smile. She pet the Eevee's head gently, soothing her pet. (You wouldn't believe the pokémon I met. I met practically one of every type. Oooh! It's so amazing! You just have to see them, all of them! Oh, Mommy, I couldn't stop talking about you while you were away. Where were you? Why didn't you come when I called?)

"I was busy," May murmured. "If I had a choice, I really wouldn't have left you. Trust me, Eevee. If I had a choice I would've stayed with you. I never, ever would have left you. You're still young, I know. You still need a Mommy."

(I do! I need a mommy! I need one more than anything else in the world! I need the best mommy there ever was! You know who the best mommy in the whole wide world is, do you? Do you? I bet you don't because you're modest! Really modest! That makes you an even better Mommy than I thought! Uh-oh, now I went and gave it away.) She sighed dejectedly and stopped talking for a minute. May waited, knowing where this was going. (But that doesn't matter, do you know why? It's because you're the BEST MOMMY EVER! I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I totally and completely looooooooooooove you!)

(It wouldn't shut up,) Blaziken said from the shore. She wasn't too far away. He wasn't that hard to hear. (It just kept talking and talking about the joys of you being her mother and blah, blah, blah, rainbows, magic, fairies and freaking sunshine everywhere. It makes me wasn't to vomit. Really. That little cheerful thing makes me sick to my stomach. Can we sacrifice it to some strange God? I tried, but Pikachu said That there would be no devil worshipping on her time, like that little thing was in charge. I could've taken her, but I was polite. I wasn't going to face of with the rat. Let her off gently, that's it. It's not polite for a guy to beat up a girl.)

(He was totally afraid of getting his ass kicked good,) Eevee confirmed with her mother, nodding to show how true this was. (Your blaziken has a masculinity problem, Mama. I think it's because everyone kept thinking he was a girl when he was born.)

(They did not think I was a girl!)

(Then why'd they keep putting ribbons on ya?) Eevee challenged.

(They were badges of honor!) Blaziken said defensively. (They knew I was male! They knew it! I know they did! They gave me a boy's name, didn't they? That's proof of it! Ribbons or badges of honor, they still gave me a boy name!)

(Tyler's a girl _and_ boy name, retard.)

"Don't call him a retard, Eevee," May said smoothly beginning to relax. It was nice to be with her old pokémon, hearing the same old arguments that wouldn't really ever end. All that was left for her to hear was Squirtle's voice and she'd be in paradise. She hoped they all had enough common sense to keep munchlax in its pokéball. Pikachu must have, at least, if none of the other pokémon did. "And where did you learn all those swear words? Haven't I told you not to use words you don't know about? Ass is not a nice word, Eevee, and you really shouldn't use it anymore. It's impolite and vulgar."

(Pikachu taught me it.)

"When did she teach you that word?" May sighed, feeling stress build up inside her. Pikachu was supposed to be an ideal mother type of rolemodel, not a swearing psychopath. "Better yet, could you tell me why she taught you that word?"

(Sure! It was because we were all having a lot of fun, but the world was going out of control. So Pikachu was all glaring at Roselia going, "What the f—k is wrong with you? Seriously, are you mentally retarded? I'm over here, a f—king crusader for peace, and you're trying to goad me into a fight. What next? I'll be begging for chastity and you'll be poking your f—king d—k in my ass all night? Could we please not go for dominance here?")

"How did that all happen?" May blinked. "Pikachu is normally calm, isn't she? She usually isn't swearing that badly. By the way, f—k, f—king, and d—k are words you shouldn't be saying either. Not even if you're quoting Pikachu."

(Like I shouldn't say "God damn it, shit this hurts?" like you do whenever you get that exclamation point once a month?) Eevee asked. May closed her eyes and debated whether or not she should bring up the topic. Then again, this would probably lead to yet another four hour discussion of puberty and sexual education. Neither of the two were things she enjoyed explaining the first six times. She didn't care if seven was a lucky number. They weren't doing that today.

"Yes, that's right."

(What's an exclamation point? I forgot again.)

"We'll talk about that later!" May said, a little more snappishly than she intended. She petted her pokémon and apologized. "Now, how about we all discuss what exactly happened while I was gone, huh? A nice long talk while I try and get some shut eye."

(Uh, I don't want to. Can't I just go listen to 'Funky Town'? That's one of my favorite songs.) Blaziken pointed towards the mob of jumping and screaming teenagers, one of which had gotten a microphone and began a very good karaoke of 'Funky Town'

"Fine, go," May sighed. "Just make sure you come back. Are we sleeping in our pokéball tonight?"

(It's the most comfortable place to sleep,) Blaziken snorted. (The ground is hard and there's rocks everywhere. I'd take that stupid trap any day. Especially since I finally figured out that if I try really, really hard I can get out of the pokéball.)

(Ash's pokémon told you that, retard. Even I knew that!)

(Will you shut up?)

(Ribbons!) Eevee squealed with delight. (They all thought you were a girl and put you in pretty pink ribbons and you never bothered to correct them because you liked it! Ooh! You want to come to my Taylor? Oh, I'm sorry, _Tyler_.)

(Don't be like that Eevee. Just because he's gay doesn't mean you can call him a girl. We can only do that after he has his operation, and what an operation it will be, dude!) Squirtle snickered. (Hey! It really is Mom! Hey Mom! Wha's happ'n'n?)

"Oh, a psycho is trying to take over the world. Nothing much," May shrugged. "I was trapped in the gym for a while taking care of Misty and Ash who have been turned into seven year olds. Fun, right? Oh, the joy will never end."

(Woah, dude, major bummer.) Squirtle smiled brightly. (Hey, well, it's not like we haven't been through this junk before. Look on the bright side, dudette, it could be totally worse! I mean, we've got sun, surf and sand!)

(And the village idiots. Plural, as in more than one, as in please shoot me now, everyone around here has a lower IQ than the temperature on this dumbshit island.) Blaziken muttered angrily. (I wish I was still a torchick. Things were so much simpler then. I miss Santa Claus…)

(Tyler killed Santa Claus! You son of a bitch!) Eevee screamed. (I'm going to pop a cap in your ass, mothaf—ka!) May slammed a hand over Eevee's mouth in shock, then slowly released her grip. (So, those words are bad ones too?)

"Let's go with any words you didn't know about before Pikachu got mad aren't nice words to say." May said, eyes still wide. "Pop a cap in your ass? Pikachu's gone ghetto or something?" She murmured to herself.

(No way! That was one of Drew's pokémon. Can't remember which on. Dude, I totally should not have eaten that pokenip. I am so freaking cheerful it's not even funny. Catnip for pokémon, man. Catnip for pokémon.)

(That shit, uh, I mean, stuff should be illegal,) Eevee corrected herself nervously. (I caught myself Mommy! I stopped myself from swearing, did I do good, did I really do good? Please tell me I'm doing better, Mommy! I just want to be a good girl.)

"Oh, it's going to be a long day."

**

* * *

**

Natty coolly strode up to the microphone, 'Funky Town' finally ending, with the two little boys trotting eagerly at her heels. When she opened her mouth to speak, the entire crowd turned and screamed in almost horror, "Don't sing!"

"…I wasn't going to sing. But, gee, guys, that really made me feel good about myself. You're all so supportive. I don't know what I'd ever do without you," she flashed an obviously fake smile. "Uh, right, down to business. I'm remembering hearing the name of one Delia Ketchum. If she is present, or if anyone in the mosh pit knows where she is, please contact me at this point, I have found something rather important that belongs to her. It was in her womb nine months, came out, grew up, and was magically transformed into a seven year old again. From what I can tell by his appearance, he is male. He has black hair, brown eyes, tanned skin and responds to the name Ash Ketchum."

"That's mine! I must've left it with my purse when I went to the bathroom!" A drunk called out. He tottered dangerously up to the stage. Natty eyed him. "What, kid, you don't think the boy is mine? We've got the same hair."

"Your name is Delia?"

"Uh, yeah," the guy said, stumbling even though he was trying to stand still. "What? You got a problem with my name? Wanna take it outside? I can take any guy in this place! Even you! Bring it on, man! Bring. It. On."

"Yeah, see, I'm a fourteen year old girl who's barely five three. I'm skinny, weak, and I've got no kind of magic power, ninja art, or fantastic pokémon to help me out here. If you can't handle me, then you're really, really pathetic. Your name isn't Delia. Your name is Brock. I remember because I ran into your gym, you introduced yourself, asked me if I wanted a badge, and I ran out screaming 'Badges? I don't need no stinkin' badges!' You're setting a bad example for your little brother here."

"I've seen lots of drunk people before. I don't care."

"You're not helping. I'm trying to keep myself from getting beat up."

"What's she sayin?" Brock asked with drunken confusion.

"She said our Mom is so fat she can't fit through the door. Take her down!" Brian shouted excitedly, yanking Ash out of the way. "Kill her, Brock. She insulted our Mom! No one insults out mom and lives! Isn't that right?"

"If my life ends like this that would suck major ass, man," Natty said sadly. Luckily for her, Brock collapsed a few seconds later to the ground and began vomiting up all the alcohol he'd had. "See, children Alcohol is bad for you. When there are a few parents and absolutely no rules, teenagers fall into chaos. Free booze and teens, never a good mix. Remember that boys, or you'll get STD's, unplanned children, and holes in your brain and liver."

"Gary says I already have holes in my brain where smart people have neutrons," Ash said quietly.

"Really, and what did you tell him?"

"I ask him what neutrons were."

"Genius, lad," Natty rolled her eyes. "Pure genius. Now, I'm still looking for Delia Ketchum. Delia Ketchum, please? I swear I can't take care of two of these little monsters at once. If you want to take Brian and leave me with Ash, I'm okay with that two. In fact, that's the preferred option." All were quiet, glaring up at the stage with obvious displeasure. "Okay, the music doesn't come back on until I find the boy's mother!"

"His mom's way back there, in the woods," the teens cried immediately. After all, what were teens without their music? "Just turn the music on! Just turn it on! We were about to listen to Thnks Fr Th Mmrs!" Several cheers went up after this.

Natty shivered. "Ew, Fall Out Boy. I just threw up in my mouth a little bit." She grabbed the boys and dragged them back to the woods, growling as Brian began his annoying rhyming again. "If you don't shut up, I'm drowning you."

"Natty, I want my Mommy," Ash whispered, tugging on Natty's shirt. "And I want Kay Kay back. Her real name Misty Kasumi Waterflower, do you know where I can find her? I said some mean things that I didn't mean. I want to say I'm sorry."

"Oh, kid," Natty sighed. "From what I've heard from a few of those floating Unown around here, Kay Kay's not the kind of girl she used to be. She's…she's in a lot of trouble here. Let's just get you to your mom and you can explain things to your friends, huh?"

"I want Misty!" He said, beginning to cry. "I'm sorry I was bad. I didn't mean to! Wuh-we were muh-married! I guh-got her a ring and a, and I proposed and shuh-she said yes! We got in a fuh-fight but we shouldn't huh-have gotten a duh-divorce!" Natty sighed and picked him up, resting him on her hip while he cried into her shoulder. Brian grabbed her hand and they continued to walk. "I'm really sorry, Mist. I miss you."

"It's okay kid. Damn, how old are you, anyway?"

"I'm eight. Misty left me, just like Daddy," Ash whispered. "Daddy left on my birthday, two weeks ago."

**

* * *

**

"You miss him," Danny said smoothly. She sat down beside Kay Kay, who was toying with her engagement ring. "I understand. It's hard to accept. He betrayed you, sweetheart. It hurts when someone you thought you knew, someone you thought really cared about, was just lying about it all. He shouldn't have said those things. Those horrible, horrible lies. It's hard being the baby in the family, when even the middle children are able to get the positive attention." She pulled the rubber band from Kay Kay's hair and began to untangle it gently. "It must hurt especially bad when you're the one getting all the negative."

"All of it."

"I know, darling. Really, I comprehend."

"They even said I killed them, my parents. They were angry and hurts and scared and confused. Daisy, Violet, Lily, they told me later on they didn't mean it. It didn't matter. It still hurt. They were right. I was sick. They were taking me to the hospital. They were in such a rush. If that hadn't happened, then the accident wouldn't have happened. That guy wouldn't have shot at us. We would've been in our house, away from that crazy. But we weren't. We were driving, caught behind a stop light. They got killed, Violet got scarred, and Lily still has nightmares. It's all because of me. It's my fault. I take full responsibility."

"No, Kay Kay, it's not your fault! You can't blame a seven year old for something like that! You can't blame anyone except the man holding the gun. You being sick was not the problem. It was that crazy man," Danny made as if to hold her close. Kay Kay shook her off.

"Don't touch me. I don't need you. Don't call me Kay Kay, either. I'd figure you'd know my age by know too. You've been here a while. I'm eight, not seven. From now on, call me Misty. I don't need some kid's name holding me down. Misty is a grown up name, a serious name. That's what I need. That's all I need. I'm eight, and I'm Misty. I don't need to change. No matter what those teachers say. I'm in mourning. I wear black."

"I understand."

"I'm going downstairs, to the basement. I want to see exactly what I've done." She stood up stiffly and walked away, paused at the door when she herd the footsteps behind her. She turned and gave an obviously fake smile. "Danielle, please, don't come after me. I think my trust has been misplaced in you. No, no, not think, feel. It's just a feeling I'm going on after all. We'll test it out, see if you're as loyal as a growlithe. Sit, girl," She commanded. Danny stared at her, mouth agape, eyes wide.

"Excuse me but-"

"Excuse _me_, darling. This is a test of your loyalty, is it not?" She said sweetly. "Sit girl," she commanded icily again. Danny swallowed, then slowly sat on the floor, her position forcing her to have to look up at Misty. Danny swallowed, feeling very bad about her current situation. "The tables have turned, my dear. You are no longer in control here. The sweet and lovable Kay Kay you once knew and loved is long, long gone. I don't know who I am anymore. I don't know how old I really am anymore. I really would like to get to the bottom of this. From what I remember, Ash has been caught up in your little spell too. I'm sure everyone will be dying to know what's going on."

"Kay Kay, uh, Misty, listen, I understand entirely. You don't need to see the traitorous boy! Really, it's not important. It's not. Let's just make some hot chocolate and watch a Tim Burton movie. Won't that be fun? We don't need him."

"You don't. I do. Stay, girl. If you're good, I'll give you a treat when you get back."

"What happened to you in less than year?" Danny whispered, more to herself than to Misty. To her surprise, Misty heard her, and began to laugh. Slowly at first, quietly, but then it grew louder and uncontrollable, almost insane. "Misty? Are…are you okay?"

"Am I okay?" She laughed. She calmed herself and gave a smile that sent shivers down to Danny's core. "You obviously don't know all that much about me, Freckles! See, when I was eight, a bunch of crap happened to me. My parents died when I was seven, throwing me into mourning. We were in trial every day to settle whether or not a twelve year old could take care of her three younger sisters with help from the community and pokémon. I was constantly interviewed by police about my parent's death. None of the kids would play with me at school, and to top it all off, my first pokémon, a goldeen, died. That has an effect on a girl."

"Oh, Danny whispered.

"Yeah, let's not talk about things we don't know, okay?" Misty said snappishly. "Now, stay, puppy dog. Mama will gives you pets and treats when she gets back." She stalked out of the room with a growl. The door slammed behind her and she raced for the basement stairs, taking the two at a time down into the beach paradise her friends were trapped in. Kicking off her shoes and socks, she walked right into the crowd and pulled a drunk from the heap.

"Heeeeeey, I was enjoying the music. Yeah! The Used rock! They're my favorite band of all. Have you seen an Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy around here? I haven't seen one of those two in forever. I even have a song about them? You want to hear it? _Jenny, oh Joy…Jenny, Joy, Sara…" _He trailed off. "What was I talking about?"

"Where is Ash Ketchum?" She ordered cruelly. "Tell me. If you don't know an Ash Ketchum, how about a Drew Williams or May Maple? I really need to find one of them immediately. If you could direct me to one of them, it would be greatly appreciated." She gave a little shake to try and jar his memory.

"Uh, woods," he said uncertainly.

"Thank you, that's helpful. Mind telling me a specific area of the woods?"

"Path, cabana…I feel sick," Brock said, his stomach turning over. Misty dropped him with a frustrated growl. The boy did seem familiar, but that wasn't something for her to think of now. For now, she needed to find Ash. "No more liquor for old Brock. Brock can't handle the hard stuff any more. No more hard Vodka for him." He sighed. "I guess I'll have to switch to the diluted stuff. Someone get me a martini, on the rocks!"

"Ugh, a drunk," she muttered. She turned on her heel sharply and strode down the thin woodsy path. So this was the path that would led to Ash, and hopefully some answers. No more friendship to get in her way. No one could be trusted. "Ow! Could you watch it?" Misty snapped as she crashed into another girl's waist.

"Sorry," Lidia blinked, adjusting her glasses that had slipped a bit down her nose in the collision. "I didn't mean to hit you. That's a very nice outfit you have on. Don't you think it's a little hot for the beach though? Maybe you'd be more comfortable in a bathing suit?"

"No, I'm fine," Misty said, beginning to walk down the trail.

"Did you just get here?" Lidia said, a bit concerned. "A lot of the kids need to be chaperoned. Do you know where your parents are?"

"I know where I hope they are."

"Do they know where you are?" She pressed, following her. "This way is to the cabana. Only the Ketchum's and Oak's are over there. There's a lot of drunk people out there. They could be dangerous, you should be careful."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. My parents are dead and my sisters are some of those drunks. I know how to handle myself around alcoholics. My entire family gets like this. I'm glad you've confirmed that the Ketchum's are over here, though. That's very helpful."

"Are you looking for someone?"

"Ash Ketchum," She said. Misty looked over her shoulder. "Is there any reason why you're following me? I'm very busy. I don't exactly have the time to make sure you don't get lost in these big, bad woods."

"I'm just trying to make sure that you're safe. It's really pretty crazy around here. I mean, with everyone getting everything they wish for around here, people tend to get out of hand. The cabana is up ahead, just a few feet more."

"Thanks," Misty smiled falsely. "Listen, I don't need a babysitter. I've got more than enough strength to take care of myself. I know what I'm doing, so don't worry about me. I appreciate the concern, but…I'm a big girl."

"Here's the cabana," Lidia said, stopping as it came into view. "There's two boys in their teens in there could you tell them I'm going to get May? We were all going to have a quick meeting, see if maybe we could find some way out of here. Supposedly Drew and May have a lot of information on how we got here and…" She trailed off. "You sure you don't need an escort around here? It really is pretty dangerous."

"I genuinely thank you for your concern," Misty nodded. "I'll be sure to tell them."

"Thank you," Lidia nodded before heading on her way.

Misty held her head up high and strode on into the cabana, well aware of the anger she would be receiving from Ash. She looked around the cabana. She didn't know the names (but I'll tell you them so you don't have to guess) but Professor Oak, Delia, Gary, Drew, Ash, Cosmo and Evan were comfortably seated inside. Of course, there was one she knew. A very pregnant Daisy was sitting in a corner with her hands rested on her swollen stomach. "Kay Kay?" Ash gasped. "Is it really...it's really you, isn't it? What are you doing here? Wait, are you Kay Kay?"

"I'd rather be called Misty," She said, her eyes narrowed. Ash took slow steps towards her. She stiffened. Here it came, the inevitable. Ash was about to punch her, kick her, scream at her, hurt her in some kind of way. This would hurt. Then she was slammed into the wall, but not in an unfriendly way. The boy a few inches shorter than her had wrapped his arms around her tightand buried his head in her chest. "Ash?" She yelped with surprise, her face reddening.

"I'm real sorry, Mist," Ash gasped. Misty blinked in surprise as she felt her shirt getting wet. Was the boy _crying?_ What a sissy. "I didn't mean to make you mad. I shouldn't have said all that stuff. I didn't mean to! I mean, I think I made you cry. You never cry. That's real mean of me. I'm sorry, Misty. Will you forgive me for everything? I know it'll be hard but…"

"Sure, no problem, Ash," Misty said uncertainly. "You can let go of me now. It's fine."

"You mean it?"

"Yeah," Misty said, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. "I mean every word. You're all forgiven. Be gone your sins and inner devils. Now, let me go so we can talk about whatever everyone needs to talk about. I've got some questions of my own that only you guys can answer. So let's let go of Misty and sit down."

"You sound mad," Ash blinked up at her. She yanked him off of her and held him at arms distance, glaring. "It was because I was hugging you, wasn't it? You don't like it when people touch you, like Gary."

"Yeah, you got me," Misty growled. "Very impressive."

"Misty?" Delia asked. "I don't suppose you remember me, from what Drew said. I'm Ash's mom, Delia. You can call me Mrs. Ketchum." Misty stepped forward and shook Mrs. Ketchum's hand calmly. Delia sighed. "You really don't remember me?"

"Not at all," Misty shook her head. "I know Daisy, Drew and Ash. That's it. I don't know who any of you other people are. I'm sorry. That's really why I came down here in the first place. I want to remember this other life I have. If I get all the information, maybe I can figure out who to believe."

"That's a good plan, Misty," Professor Oak nodded.

"Thank you, I thought it was too. Who might you be?" She inquired, stepping over to him and extending her hand. "I'm Misty, though it seems you already know me. How did we meet, anyway? In my, er, older body?" She asked.

"We met through Ash. I gave him his first pokémon. I'm Professor Oak."

"Nice to meet you, Professor," She smiled. "I think my great grandmother got her pokémon from your father. What pokémon did Ash start out with anyway?"

"Pikachu!" Ash cried with joy, throwing his arms around the electric rodent at his feet. "She was my very first pokémon, they said. I don't really know if she was or not, but I really love her and she seems to love me too!"

(I missed you,) Pikachu said delightedly. (Unfortunately, dipstick over here only understands half of what I say. In fact, nobody knows what I'm saying. It's pretty sad. I feel neglected, but at least Misty and Ash know how to pet me. Don't you, dumbass?)

"I don't know what you just said," Ash said, a smile still on his face. "But I'll keep petting you because you really seem to like that!"

(Attaboy,) She croonedwhile leaning into his touch.

"I'm Evan, you've never met me before." He smiled and shook her hand. "You've never met Cosmo, either." Misty shook Cosmo's hand as well and they said their hellos. "It's nice to meet you, Misty. Ash wouldn't stop talking about his wife."

"Ha," Misty snorted. "We're divorced now. Who are you?" She crossed her arms at Gary, who was sitting in a very stud-like position. "You look like a hot shot. What's your name and how big is your ego, hot shot?"

"My name is Gary," He said coolly. "And I'm only bigheaded about what I deserve."

"Wow, so, tell me, how did your big head fit through that small door?" She asked as sweetly as she could manage. Gary frowned. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I anger you in some way? I'm sure it wasn't my smartass answer."

"Oh, no, that was the farthest thing from my mind," Gary muttered. "Aren't you a sweet little kid. No wonder your sisters are constantly getting drunk." Professor Oak leaned forward to glare around a few other people to his grandson. "What is it, Gramps? I was just kidding. She started it."

"She's eight!" Professor Oak snapped. He turned back to Misty. "We were wondering what's been happening so far. How did you and Ash get into your current state. Why aren't you teenagers anymore? Why can't you can change back? Most importantly, who's behind all this?"

"I don't really know what's going on, if anything's going on it's probably the fault of Unown A. Her name is Danny now. She liked the name much better than what she was using before. I could change back, but I still wouldn't remember a thing. That's why I came."

"You didn't come to see me?" Ash asked, sounding a little hurt. "Oh, I thought you missed me too. I guess not. We're still friends though, right? Even if you didn't miss me?"

"Yeah, we're still friends, don't worry about that, Ash," Misty soothed. "Not exactly married, anymore, but yes, we're still friends. Once we get this all settled we can figure out all this relationship stuff. For now, I just want to do my best to remember everything that happened to me. I need to know about my past, everything up to the present. I don't know how much of that you can fill me in on, but I'm sure you can help at least a little. We've got to help Ash remember too."

"How can we do that?"

"Talk, teach. Try and get us to remember. It's not like amnesia where we'll just remember. I'd ask Danny to give me them back but…she could give me any memory she felt like. I wouldn't know if it would be real or not. It's not like she doesn't have the ability to lie."

"Isn't there some kind of word trap you could use? Like, I wish I had my real memories back or something like that."

"Reality is relative. You can't be sure of what is and isn't real around here. There's no way to really know whether or not they'd be my real memories. My best bet is to know about both lives, then choose the one I think will be real, or at least the one that'll make me happy."

"I think that would be best," Professor Oak agreed. "Gary, Delia, and myself can all tell Ash about his life up to his journey. After that, we're lost. I'm sure Daisy can fill you in on your life until you left?" He looked at Daisy. She nodded and began to hum to the children inside her stomach.

"Misty kept a diaries," Daisy said quietly. "From the day she left, she started a diary. She can read that as a reminder, couldn't she? What better to read than what she wrote. That will remind her for sure. I don't suppose Ash…?"

"He did!" Delia said with delight. "In fact, I carry them around with me to keep them safe all the time!" She pulled out the diaries from the infamous hammerspace all anime women have. (A/N: She seems like the kind of mom who would do that, don't you think?)

"That's great. I'll get my memories back in no time," Misty beamed. "We've got all our sources lined up. It's almost too easy." She gave a light laugh that made everyone stiffen. It almost seemed like she was planning on backing down. However, her thoughts remained behind a smiling mask as she sat with Ash and began to pet the little Pikachu as well, finding some secret spot behind her ears that made the mouse squeal with pleasure.

The adults ignored them and went back to idle, confused chat while Drew narrated their experience over the past few days.

"Misty?"

"Yes Ash?"

"How come you're Misty, and not Kay Kay anymore? You're all dressed in black, too. That's not lie you were before. I remember. Last time I saw you, you were happier, y'know. You were a lot more smile-ly-er and you hugged me more and you seemed more…I don't know. Misty, I was wondering, are you mad at me?" He refused to look at her. instead, he stared fixedly at a stripe on Pikachu's back.

"Ash, look at me," Misty ordered. He continued to look down. She grabbed his chin in her gloved hands and forced him to look up at her. "My mood has nothing to do with you. What I said has nothing to do with you. You are a good, good boy Ash Ketchum. You are an angel with no halo, okay? I have said some bad things to you, and I probably will again. You have to understand, you have done nothing wrong. I'm just a bad girl."

"You're not a bad girl, Misty," Ash whispered. "I'm not that good of a boy, either. I said some mean things too. I made you really sad, Misty. Is that why you're all in black? Because I made you sad? I'm sorry! I didn't mean too! I swear! I'm real sorry, Mist! I'm real sorry, I-" He was cut off by a finger on his lips.

"Ash, it's not your fault I'm dressed like this. My parents died. I'm in mourning. That's what I'm dressed up like this. I'm not unhappy, Ash. I'm just not overjoyed, do you get it? It's confusing to me too, so don't feel bad if you don't understand. It's confusing for everyone. Feelings always are."

"Feelings are weird," Ash agreed. "Especially when it's feelings that have to do with girls. Those are really weird. I have those with you all the time. I can't figure out what they are!" He gave a boyish giggle and turned his attention back to Pikachu. "I bet you have weird feelings with some guy too."

(No, I'd be knocked up if I did. Pokémon don't beat around the bush. People keep writing freaking romance stories about us. Once we're adults, we don't really court. We just bow chicka wow wow over and over. Most of us mate for life. I'm waiting for the right beast to f—k with. Sorry, Ash. Only Legendaries are big on feelings.)

"I still don't know what you said, but I bet you were agreeing with me," Ash smiled, petting her even more.

(Ah, well,) Pikachu sighed, (He can't guess them all. The boy has to run out of luck sometimes, doesn't he? Get your favorite Pikachu some ketchup. You want to give me ketchup. Are my Jedi mind powers working on you yet?)

"I can sort of understand you," Misty whispered quietly. "Most gym leaders are good at that. It comes from being with pokémon twenty four seven, you start picking up on everything. She said she wanted ketchup."

"Ketchup, weird thing for a pokémon to want!" Ash exclaimed with a giggle. "Hey, wanna go outside and imagine up a hot dog shack? I'm getting really good at imagining stuff, but sometimes it comes out lopsided." He grinned.

"Lopsided is good sometimes," Misty smiled, following him out the door. She couldn't stop her thoughts, _Like your smile._

Meanwhile, May strode in through the other door, Lidia by her side. She looked around the room, and sighed dramatically, making everyone look at her. "I missed something big _again _didn't I?" She moaned.

"Yeah," Gary smirked. "You did. I'm Gary, by the way, what are your names," he winked flirtatiously.

"Not," May began.

"Interested," Lidia finished with raised eyebrows.

It was going to be a _long _wait for that amnesia to wear off, especially with Gary there.

* * *

Well, happy holdidays to everyone out there! I think Christmas is the only one left, the other main two are over now, I'm pretty sure. I know that one of them is, I celebrated it at my friend Brenda's but... 

Anywho, I hope you all have a wonderful winter break!


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey, guys, uh,** if you don't care about Unown A at all…this chapter's gonna suck for you**.** There's a **_**whole **_**portion of this chapter all about her so I can get this story to make more sense at the very end. **She's a character, y'know? I try and keep OC's out as much as possible, but it's a bit unavoidable here. I'm trying to make her interesting enough that you don't mind, but **the main focus of this story is still Misty and the AAML**, so don't worry, it's not all about Unown A.

* * *

**Chapter 13**

Misty wasn't looking up at Daisy.

She'd been talking for an hour, at least, she was sure, and all that time she had continued to stare fixatedly at the floor, moving the sand beneath her with her feet until she made a hole up to her ankles. She then proceeded to completely burry her feet in the sand. Her memories were coming back to her, slowly but surely. Every once in a while she would open her mouth and contribute to the story, filling in what she knew. Some of the memories were foggy, she couldn't remember them at all, but some were crystal clear, like a movie in her head. They were mostly the ones tying to her family, her friends, anyone she had been particularly close to. She guessed it was the emotion that did it. What was the quote? People may not remember what you did, but they will always remember how you made them feel. It was certainly true. Every feeling that passed through her seemed to unlock more and more memories, each one was attached to another, sometimes by the most random things, such as her learning to braid in Daisy's long, blonde hair to making blondies with all her sisters in the kitchen to the four girls having a pillow fight until feathers were everywhere.

It also didn't take long for her to realize that time wasn't exactly the same down here. From their point of view, not even a day had passed. In her world, up stairs, it had already been three weeks. Daisy also wasn't getting any farther along in her pregnancy. Maybe, it wasn't that time passed slower down her, but stopped entirely? It made as much sense as anything else in that place. The Unown did seem to have unlimited power at their fingertips, as long as someone was willing to command them. The whole thing was confusing. It made her want to rip her hair out and scream. Not long ago she was perfectly content, and, from what she could tell, Unown A had taken it all away from her. She didn't even know how freaking long Unown A had been in her life! What was it now, a month, tops? Unown A acted as if she had been there from the beginning, made herself so involved that it felt like she had been. Every part of her life seemed to revolve around the powers she had brought with her.

That was the problem.

She wasn't Unown A anymore. She was Danny. She was more than a friend, more than her sister. Really, Danny was the closest thing she had to a mom at the moment. In all the confusion, in all the deception and lies she still felt as if Danny was the one to turn to. It was Danny that she wanted to hold her close while she cried, telling her everything she was feeling, and having the thing rock her back and forth until she slept. Deep down in her heart, practically imbedded in her, was the stubborn thought that Danny could do know wrong because she _loved _Misty. She would do anything to keep her safe, just like she had been all her life.

It was blind obedience. She knew what it was. It was the same instinct that silenced babies when the mother was calm. It was the same instinct that carried on traditions, religions, beliefs and views through generations. The simple knowledge that whatever protected you must be _right._ Danny had said she loved her, and, of course, Danny wouldn't lie because she was, well, Danny. She was honest and pure and everything good in the world. The logical part of her mind knew exactly what this was a steaming pile of but somehow, she couldn't shake off the feeling that everything she was being told right now was a lie.

That's why she wouldn't look up. that's why she _couldn't _look up because if she did she was positive that she would burst into tears. Everyone was trying to hard to help. Everyone wanted to make this better for her, and yet the only thing she could think of was the fact that every last one of them was nothing but a dirty traitor trying to turn her against the only thing that really and truly loved her. Dammit, she wanted the help, she needed it. This was the key to unlocking all these mysteries she had been discovering. This would help her know who she really was. It wasn't just a fairy tale, it was self discovery. If Danny, Unown A, was really plotting on taking over the world, this whole thing could be a matter of not just life and death, but freaking genocide! This wasn't fair. It was even that she was lucky. It wasn't that she was the Chosen One. It was that she was the easiest Mew damned target. Some creature looked at her and said "Yeah, that won't be hard to brainwash. I can totally control every aspect of that pathetic thing's life".

Frankly, that didn't feel very nice to her. In fact, it made her feel like crap. She looked to the other side of the room when Ash laughed. He had been doing that a lot. Apparently he had a fantastic life story. He smiled too much. It was annoying. He kept flashing that stupid smile. That stupid lopsided grin that made her heart skip a beat and her lungs tighten painfully and twist her stomach so much that she just wanted to _scream _because she didn't know what she could do to make it go away.

"Daisy?" Misty asked quietly.

"Yeah, Misty?" Daisy said, coming to a dead stop in her seemingly never ending series of words. "What's your problem?"

Misty blinked. How did she manage to say that in a non offensive way? Everything Danny said seemed to come with a painful dose of reality. Somehow, Daisy managed to keep all the words sweet. "Uh, how did you manage to say that the way you did?"

"What do you mean?"

"You said it like…" Misty trailed off uncertainly. "Usually, when people ask you what your problem is it doesn't sound nice, you know what I mean? You're so nice. In all of my memories though, everything I remember about you, you were horrible. You and Violet and Lily, I mean, sometimes, you were all really nice. I loved you guys for the good times, but most of the time, we fought. We yelled, we screamed, we tortured and blackmailed, and somehow you still managed to come out every once in a while with a smile on your face. I just need to know, how is that possible? You can't…love and hate someone at the same time."

"You're right, I think," Daisy said carefully. "I don't think you can love and hate someone at the same time. See, there's a difference between hating a person and hating what they've done. For instance, you were a little kid, really little, when we first started fighting. I think it was when you were three that the problems started. That'd make me eight because I'm five years older," She paused. "Well, allegedly five years older. You could be right, you really could be eight, and you could've been a very late accident." Daisy winked in her sister's way and giggled. "I'm not here to tell you Unown A's a liar."

_Danny,_ Misty corrected silently. _Not Unown A, her name is Danny._

"The first time we ever did something bad to one another, intentionally doing something bad to each other, was when we were at Funland and Violet, Lily and I all put you in the Lost and Found box with a sign that said "Don't Let Our Parents Find Her"," Daisy chuckled. "Daddy hit us _hard _for that one. That's how it all started though. We all just started getting revenge on one another. We were jealous little girls. There were two of our parents and four of us. I bet by now you remember how much we all needed attention. Everyday we had to come home and top one another. It kept our grades up in school though."

"It did," Misty agreed. "Not to mention it got you too popular for your own good."

"You were sneaky," Daisy smirked. "Mom and Dad knew it, too. To all the other parents though, you were the sweetest, even with your temper. You did things just for you, not to compete with your sisters. You had integrity, you were your own person."

"I liked to blackmail," Misty giggled.

"Bingo," Daisy laughed. "You learned to read diaries, hack computers, make a homemade truth serum out of everyday household items. You have to tell me where you learned that, by the way. I want to know how to use that stuff."

"I'm not telling you! What if you use it against me?" Misty leaned forward, excited. She was starting to get comfortable around her sister. Not only that, it felt…_normal._ It felt right. She was supposed to be with Daisy, her sister. She could really call her a sister without feeling like…

…like a traitor.

"I think I'm nine now!" Ash cried out cheerfully. "I think I remember everything up until the day I left! I even remember how I overslept!" he threw his arms up in excitement, then dropped them. "Oh, I overslept on my first day! What if I didn't get a pokémon?" He groaned and dropped his head in his hands. "Even worse, what if I don't get the pokémon I wanted and got stuck with something really bad like an eevee?"

Gary's mouth dropped open in horror. "Listen, Misty, Mrs. Ketchum, I'm sorry if this is going to hurt your feelings or some crap, but I have to him." Gary stood up and brushed off his pants. "Come on, Ash. Let's go outside so I can show you something really cool." He grabbed Ash from the collar (who still didn't recognize this older Gary as his rival) and began to drag him outside the cabana, while Mrs. Ketchum merely looked on with the shrug.

"Alright, Gary, just remember I want grandchildren." She smiled.

"Am I going to like this, Gary? I know a kid named Gary! His name is Gary Oak, just like yours! He's a jerk and a loser, I don't like him. If you met him, I'm sure you'd hate him too! He wanted a stupid eevee as his starter. What a lame girl pokémon, right Gary?" Ash laughed. Gary's grip tightened on the shirt and Ash swallowed nervously as he disappeared from view. All that could be heard from inside the cabana was a nervous little voice saying, "Hey, whatchya doin'? Gary…Gary…uh, maybe we should talk about this. You look angry. Why's that? …about what I said? All I said was that eevee was a lame starter! It's not even a real starter! …You're Professor Oak's Gary, aren't you?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Ash is going to be sore tomorrow, isn't he Daisy?" Misty giggled to her sister. "Keep going, tell me everything else. You've gotten me halfway through my ninth year, haven't you?" Daisy nodded. "Well, hurry up! You could drop that baby any second, couldn't you?"

"I think I liked you better when you were three. You were easier to get rid of," Daisy smirked and shook her head. "Okay, where was I? Oh, right, the first time you were home alone and set the microwave on fire two minutes after we left. I still don't get how you thought you could use the microwave as a timer! You set it for seventy minutes so you'd wake up from your nap to see some stupid kid's show on TV. It was a one hour special on one of your favorite shows. I can't remember for the life of me what it was called. It was something about imaginary creatures like dragons and unicorns and all that junk. You never stopped watching that."

"Avalon!" Misty clapped her hands excitedly. "Oh, I love that show! I remember that! It wasn't my fault I didn't know. The oven had a timer, I figured it'd be okay if I used the microwave. It's not my fault I didn't get the memo about kitchen safety! You never tell me anything!"

Gary walked in with a smirk, looked around the room and began laughing. "Ash is hanging from a tree by his pants and his pants are around his ankles. I used his shirt to tie his hands together and then I shoved his hat in his boxers. Who wants to see? I'm thinking about charging admission to see this beautiful piece of art."

Everyone exchanged glances, all wanting to look but not really sure about whether or not it would be appropriate. After all, Ash's mother was in the room. She wouldn't want her son to be completely humiliated in front of his mother, his only family, and all his friends. Surprisingly, Delia beamed and said, "Oh! Gary, you didn't hurt him, did you? Thank you. You're such a good boy. We'll have to bring him down before dinner though."

"Yes ma'am," Gary nodded.

"But Mrs. Ketchum!" Misty gasped. "He's your son! I mean, you're just going to let Gary get away with that?"

"Oh, it's not that bad. Ash can protect himself you know. I only worry if he's about to save the world. Life and death, that's what really scares me. Ash can handle a bit of embarrassment. It'll make him stronger in the long run," She smiled and encouraged everyone out the door.

Misty blinked. "Damn, I worry about the boy more than she does." She looked at Daisy shyly, a bit of the awkwardness returning. "Um, Daisy? Would you mind staying here for a little bit and telling me more about my life? We're almost done. We can see Ash later, can't we?"

"Sure," Daisy grinned. "I sent Drew off with a camera already. If Ash get down before we can get outside, we'll both have the pictures! One less thing to worry about, right? Anyway, where'd I leave off? Something about Avalon, the TV show and how you watched it too much?"

"I resent that" Misty's eyes narrowed before she and her sister both fell into a fit of giggles for no real reason. She didn't mind, though, it was nice to have her older sister back. Now all she needed was to figure out who she was, what was real, who to trust, and basically figure out the rest of her life at nine years old.

Yeah, this was going to be a fun week, wasn't it?

**

* * *

**

"We shouldn't do this to him," Lidia said sympathetically. "Gary, you really should take him down, it isn't fair. All the blood's going to rush to his head. He'll have a headache." Gary stared at her. "Right, you don't care about Ash, it must've slipped my mind." There was silence for a moment. "Okay, uh, you did not just put your hand where I _think _your hand is."

"No," Gary answered monotonely.

"Get your hand off my butt!" Lidia snapped, smacking his hand away. He held it to his chest as if burned.

"Let him down. He'll probably whine if he gets a headache. Ash has actually been pretty quiet," Evan stared up at him. "He's been dead quiet. Gary, did you do something to him? His eyes are closed. You didn't…you didn't kill him or anything, right?"

"I didn't touch him, look, his lips are moving," Gary pointed.

"Get your hand off my butt!" May yelped, diving behind Drew to make a shield. "What is your problem? First poor Lidia now me! Can't you keep your hand off girls' butts for five minutes? You're not as much of a player as you think you are."

"It's fine," Gary shrugged. "I've got cheerleaders, you can hate me. You've probably got a boyfriend in the grass stain over there. That's why you chose him to hide behind, isn't it?" He smirked when May flushed and stuttered for a reply. "Yeah, I thought so."

Meanwhile, all that was going through Ash's head was: _So, I'm going to be the world's greatest pokémon master. Awesome. I wonder who I got for my starter? Maybe that Pikachu? That'd be cool. I wouldn't mind having Pikachu. Sure, it's pretty girly, but it's less girly than a stupid eevee. Eevee's one of the girliest pokémon in all of Kanto! I wonder if I travel alone? I wouldn't mind that. I guess it might be good to have some company, like when I'm running into ghost pokémon._

"Ash, how are you doing up there?" Lidia called up above her. "Are you okay? Do you want to come down now? I think Gary will let you down if you promise to apologize." Ash didn't say anything, too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even realize he was being talked to. "Ash! Is there something wrong?" She stared up at him, then glanced over at Evan. "I think he fell asleep up there. How'd he fall asleep up there?"

"Maybe it's comfortable," Evan suggested. He took a deep breath. "Ash! What are you doing up there? Did you fall asleep?"

"No!" Ash called back. "But I bet I could. It's kinda nice up here. I think I want to get down know though. It's pretty boring. There's no games or anything! All you can do is think, and I hate thinking!" Ash swung up, surprising everyone below at his ability to do, basically, a sit up, and hold it long enough to undo a shoelace. This then reminded everyone of what they were looking at as Ash came back down to the ground with a painful _thunk._

"Pure genius, Ash. Pure genius," Gary shook his head sadly.

"Now your hand is on _my _butt!" Cosmo gasped. "Get your hand off my butt!"

"Well, I'm off to find a girl who will actually let me touch her. There's a lot of drunks down at the beach. I bet I can get some girl to make out with me down there." He tucked his hands in his pockets and strolled down to the beach.

"It, uh, really was because you were closest," May flushed, trying to explain herself to Drew. "Hey, you want to go get a hot dog? Come on, let's go imagine a hot dog stand, somewhere to sit and someone to serve us. Sound like fun?" She didn't wait for an answer, but grabbed his hand and dragged him down to the beach. Drew still wasn't sure what was going on. There was either a bad or good situation going on. Unfortunately, he was pulling a blank since May still had his hand.

He'd take it step by step. First, Ash had been hanging upside from a tree by his pants. That was a good thing. Second, Gary had touched May, and not in a good way. That was definitely a bad thing. Then, May had jumped behind him and hugged him pretty close, and Ash was still in that tree. That was a double good thing. After that, Ash had fallen down from the tree. That made only one good thing, tied with Gary touching May, which was a bad thing. So a good thing plus a bad thing. Those to must've canceled each other out, so what he had on his hands, simply, was a situation neither good or bad. It was a moment.

Well, that was an awfully pointless thing for him to be concerned about.

"Why don't you just imagine a hot dog?" Drew asked as they emerged onto the beach. "What was the point of coming all the way down to the beach. We could have just imagined hot dogs and gone back inside the cabana. It was comfortable in there, nice and cool. Instead, I'm getting dragged out into the hot sun by some crazy brunette who, not five minutes ago, latched onto me like I was her only lifeline."

"I thought we were friends now. Maybe we could have some time alone. It's only been one day, less than that maybe, but it feels like it's been much longer, don't you think? Drew, I don't know if the sun even sets around here! What if it doesn't? What if it's just day all the time and there's no way to get any sleep. Oh! What if those people never stop partying? It'll be bright out and noisy. I'll never get any sleep!" She moaned and hugged herself. "I hate this place. I don't know why everyone thinks it's paradise! I love the beach and everything, but it's horrible here. I mean, I don't even know how those partying people are having fun. They're just jumping up and down and listening to music. I couldn't do that for that long even if I did like the music I was hearing! How could they stand it?"

"They're drunk, May," Drew shrugged. "Completely and totally, pardon my French, shitfaced. Once they're drunk, they're stuck that way. If you run out of beer, you want another one, there's nothing to stop them. There's no bartender telling them they've had enough. They don't run out of money to buy. No one around them is supporting them, they're all encouraging one another to drink even more. I'm surprised they're not all dead by now."

"Drew!" May cried in horror.

"It's true, May," Drew shrugged. "Really, it's a good thing. Obviously, something else is going on here. They'd all be dead of alcohol poisoning by now if nothing else was happening."

"That's still not a positive thing, Drew," May shook her head. "It's still horrible to say. I don't even want to think about what's going through their bodies and minds right now. It's sick." She looked slowly at Drew, drumming her fingers on her crossed arms. "Hey, Drew, would you mind if we didn't go to a hot dog shack. I'd like something that's not…" She trailed off, trying to think of the right word. This time, he was quiet and waited. Maybe he was finally understanding her better, he hoped so. "I want something that's not beach themes for once, you know? Everything around here is party themed."

"So, what do you want?" Drew snorted. "Some fancy French restaurant you have to dress up for?" He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, May, I'd love to see that one happen." His eyes opened, of course, to the scene he described, and a very sheepish May. "Nice job May. You've done great at imagining up a beautiful setting for our very first date. I think it's fancy enough to suit the both of us but I think we're a little underdressed."

"It's not a date!" May gasped, blushing deeper. "I didn't mean for it to happen. You gave me the idea and it just…it took over. Don't worry about getting dressed up. I can fix that. It shouldn't be too hard to imagine you in a tux."

"I was kidding, May," Drew glared, "I'm not wearing a tux."

"Yes you are," She giggled.

"No, May, I'm not wearing a tux!" Drew said stubbornly. May continued to giggle and look at his torso. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I'm already in the tux, aren't I? If I am, please tell me it's at least a black one."

"It's purple," May said, keeping her face as straight as possible. "Not too bad, right?" Drew cried out in horror, and looked down at himself, coated in, of course, a regular black tux. This left May to fall to the ground (literally) laughing. "That wasn't funny."

"Yes it was," May nodded, still laughing on the floor. "It was priceless, Drew, I swear. If I could've gotten your face on camera, I think my life might've been perfect. _Nobody _will ever believe you made a face like that!"

"Oh, grow up," Drew huffed.

**

* * *

**

There she was, sitting patiently, waiting for Kay Kay, pardon her, Misty to come back and let her move. Mew, she'd never felt this helpless before. This was definitely a humbling act. When that girl came back, oh she would pay. She wouldn't go after her, no, but she could go after her precious friends, her precious sisters. Two of them were drunk. She could probably kill them and no one would know the difference between her intervention and alcohol poisoning. Revenge would be sweet, but for now, she had to sit still and wait for her _master _to come back and release the hold she had. This was why she hated humans.

And to think, she actually wanted to friends with that disgusting pile of flesh not too long ago.

"She's got you whipped like the fam-mih-lee pig," said a teasing voice behind her.

She _knew _that voice. She could identify it out of a crowd of one million, and had plenty of times before. But if there was anyone, absolutely anyone Danny did not want to see right now, it was the male sitting (or standing, she couldn't be sure) behind her. "How are you talking out loud, Unown B?" She asked through gritted teeth. "I should be hearing you psychically, as in in my head, as in, I can tune you out."

_Is this better?_ He inquired. Unown B circled in front of her, in his perfect Unown shape. _Hey, A, whatchya doin' today?_ He floated low, close to her face. She glared, wondering whether he would mind if she smacked him across the room. It took her less than a second to realize, she didn't care. Danny smoothly reached up and smacked him, hard, her body moving with the effort, and sent him splatting into the other wall. All the while, a perfect smirk was decorating her face. _Ow, A, that hurt. What's that for. I was just sayin' hi. I haven't done anythin' to ya and you just had ta go and be a jerk about it._

"Don't call me A, Unown B. I'm human," she said proudly. "My human name is Danny."

_Whatever, Danny. Why'dya go and be a jerk, huh?"_

"It's because I hate you," She rolled her eyes. "You're just as bad as the rest of those dipsticks I was trapped with in that dirty hell hole. Thank Mew I finally got out of there. I thought I was away from you, but you managed to find me, even in this body."

"Sure I did!" Came the voice out loud, once again. "It wasn't that hard. You had May, Drew, Daisy, Misty and Ash as the only people upstairs. You had to be the only other one. I mean, you were hard to find because all the other Unown kept bothering me, but, you know, once I finally managed to throw them off my trail, you were real easy to find, and I thank ya kindly for that, A. You should've stayed in your other form. Changing to this one was stupid."

"I can hear you again," Danny said, gripping the carpet between her fingers. "Why can I hear you again? What is wrong with you? How did you learn to speak human, Unown B? You've never had a talent for languages. You didn't learn psychic-English until, well, gee, you haven't learned that one yet, have you? You're still pretty bad with those big words. I'm trying to keep them small for you. Are you keeping up?"

"Yeah, just fine, thanks!" He said cheerfully. Danny's breath caught in her throat as she continued to stare straight ahead, unblinking, her mouth opening and closing wordlessly. In front of her, she did not see the black body of the usual Unown B. Instead, she saw a very human pair of tan legs. "A, what's wrong? You're not breathing. Are you sick?" He dropped to his hands and knees and looked up at her, grinning. "Hiya!"

"You're…you're human!" Danny gasped, her mouth dropping open and staying that way.

"Yup!" He grinned.

"You can't be human!" Danny shrieked. "You can't! You didn't…you haven't been granting any wishes! You haven't been fulfilling desires! I've covered all of those! I've been doing that! For every human downstairs and upstairs! Three hundred and seventy six of them! I've been making beer and music and all sorts of junk! You shouldn't have been able to draw power from anyone! What did you do, leave the gym and go around town? You can't go that far from the box! We're all trapped inside this house _or _we have to be next to the person that opened the box! You weren't near either! What did you do?"

"Um, I got power," Unown B smiled. He sat down in front of her, in all his naked glory, and wriggled his fingers proudly. "I can't believe I pulled this off! Isn't it cool? We're the only two that turned human! Don't tell the others, but they're not too bright. I mean, really, even you're kind of slow when you think about it! I'm the only one who knows how to get the most power around here. I mean, you have three hundred and seventy six people. I only have four."

"Four?" Danny whispered. "Where'd you get those people? That's impossible. You couldn't have had any! I was keeping track of them!"

"You got the drunks that wanted liquor. Then you scanned for the people who knew Ash and Misty and May and Drew. There were four who weren't either. You weren't paying attention to them, so when they made their first wish I took it, but here's the thing," Unown B leaned forward discreetly, as if someone else was around to listen. "That's why I got so much power. They weren't wishing. They weren't wishing at all."

"Really, what were they doing?" Danny glared.

"They were _imagining!_" Unown B said excitedly. "See, there's a big difference. The lesson of the Unown is you're supposed to be careful what you wish for. Our powers are supposed to grant wishes, that's what Mew gave them to us for! But guess what? Guess what?" He asked. She looked at him blankly. "Hey, stupid, you're supposed to _guess_. I mean, you call us stupid all the time and you can't even figure out you're supposed to guess!"

"Alright, tell me."

"That's not a guess," He pouted. She glared and muttered something like 'you've got to be kidding me'. "No! I'm not joking at all. Now hurry up! Guess, guess, guess, guess, guess! You've got to take a stab at it! Use your imagination, that's where the power comes from!"

"You're about to die?"

"That was a _bad _guess," He giggled. "You weren't even close, A! Er, Danny. I'm supposed to call you Danny. That's a nice name, I like it." He smiled shyly. "It's pretty. Could you help me pick out a name, A?"

"No!" Danny snapped. "I can't!" She paused for a minute. "Why are you looking at me funny?"

"I dunno," he shrugged. "It's got something to do with the body. I like this one a lot better than the Unown body. Hey, ever think that maybe we weren't supposed to be Unown? Hey! What if we were supposed to be human? That would be really cool!" He grinned. She glared. "Oh, right. You wanted to know about the guess what thing, didn't you? I can tell you all about that! Okay, so the thing is, you can't tell the difference at all between wishing and imagining, at least, our powers can't, they work on both. But see, whereas wishing usually comes from envy, and jealousy and desire, imagining is just something you do for fun! See, the authors, that's what I call them, are imagining _all_ the time. So, see, it gives off this power they don't even know about! They can't use it, but we can!"

"I'm sorry, the authors?" Danny asked. "Wait a second, why the hell am I apologizing to you?" She reached up and smacked him along the side of the head, hard. "I hate you! I don't even know why I care what you're saying. The difference between wishing and imagining. It's the same thing or else the magic wouldn't work, and you know it. Why don't you stop acting like an idiot and go back where you came from."

"Danny…" Unown B shifted uncomfortably. "See, it's going to be a while before you can do anything." He swallowed nervously, beginning to sweat. "I don't know if you've lost track of time, but, it's only been one day downstairs, about, since Misty left." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing for her to get mad. "Danny, it's been four weeks since she's left. If you weren't magic, you'd be dead right now. You haven't slept, eaten, drank, or anything."

"What's your point?" Danny glared.

"You…you should move a bit. You can't do anything downstairs. Misty won't let you. You had your turn and told your side of the story, now Misty's finding out theirs. I was thinking, though, since you were going to be trapped up here for a while, and I was going to be trapped up here for a while, if maybe we could hang out, like we used to." He shifted nervously. "I know you said you didn't like me that way anymore, and I believe you! I know you don't like me like that. You don't want me as a mate. That's okay, I don't mind. But maybe, before we had all these mating problems and courting problems and dating problems, whatever you want to call it, we were friends, remember?"

She sighed and haltingly admitted, "Yes."

"Maybe we could be that way again, friends." He nodded to himself. "I like you, you like me, sort of. I don't think we have to do anything. I mean, we can be good, good friends. I want to be human for a little while, until we get caught."

"We're not going to get caught," Danny glared. "We're going to take over the world. No one's going to be able to stop us. All the humans will love us because we can grant their wishes. They'll all be against that stupid Mew. She won't be able to do a thing if all the humans turn all their pokémon against her. We won't get caught," She swore to herself. She dug her nails into her arms as she brought them up to hug herself. "We won't,"

"You know we will."

"No we won't," She whispered, shaking. "Don't talk like that."

"You're being silly."

"You're being stupid," she growled. "I'm right, here. I know what I'm saying. My plans don't fail, they never fail! I can keep this all under control. Misty's just taking longer than planned. She'll be back. I've discounted all their evidence, it won't make a difference."

"But, the lesson," he blinked. "All the humans know it in the end. All of this, it just doesn't feel right. She'll know that in the end."

"She won't feel it!" Danny snapped. "If she hasn't by now she never will!"

"If she doesn't feel that, what exactly do you think is going on between her and Ash?" Unown B cocked his head to the side. "I mean, even as small children that part of them that still loved one another fought its way out. You saw it. They got married, they played together, they acted like a couple most of the time. With the way you acted, I thought you wanted it to happen. That's what happened all those years ago, when Salem learned the lesson and fell in love with his friend Samantha. They had a happy ending, didn't they! This one will end just as happy as theirs! It'll end just like it, don't you think?"

"I hope so," Danny agreed with a smile. "If I recall, that story ended with Samantha being tried as a witch and burned at the stake. Salem went mad with grief and killed himself four days later. Their beautiful children then starved in the streets."

"Oh crap," Unown B said, eyes wide. "That sure as hell wasn't what I meant." He beamed. "Look, I'm learning words. See, I knew them in the head thing, but now I can say them out loud. That's what I have problems with, the talking. Talking is hard. You had problems moving. I don't have anything problems with that." Just to prove it, he did a quick cartwheel before leaping back to his spot. "See how good I am?"

"You're fantastic," She agreed unenthusiastically.

"Thanks!" He beamed. "So what do you say? Do you want to hang out with me again? Misty's not coming back anytime soon, you can't deny that much. You can just, uh, wait with me for her to come back. See! We're waiting, not dating. Does that sound like fun?"

"It sounds like torture," She muttered.

He laughed at that. "That was funny! Come on, think up a name for me! I want a name like you have! That would be so cool! I'd have my own name like you. It'd almost be like we really were human! I love this body!"

"This body?" She blinked. "Hey, can you change your body, Unown B?"

"No, because this is what I'd be if I was human. You only get one form for each shape you take. Human, Pikachu, squirtle, applesauce, whatever! You only get one form for each and you can't change it. But you can change other things!" He smiled and changed her outfit into something right out of the 70's, tight in all the right places and colors crazy enough to make the fashion police write you out a life sentence. "See!"

"Okay," Danny said, reddening as he continued to bounce up and down. There were some things her human body did that she could not control. That was annoying. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, cursing the tight sweater and her female body's reaction. "How about Damian, like that demon kid who came to wreak havoc on the earth? I think that's a perfect name for you. You're certainly wreaking havoc on me."

"How do you mean?" He asked, completely clueless. "I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"You're causing more than enough just by being alive," She snarled. "Let's go find you some clothes, huh? I'd really rather not have a naked boy running around here. It's very distracting. That and it's not right. We are technically teenagers."

"Okay," He nodded. "I'll put on pants! We'll have to imagine them on, won't we? The boys don't have any clothes left up here, they're wearing them all, and no men live here, do they?" He asked as Danny began to stand up.

"Wrong again, Damian," She rolled her eyes. "The boys had backpacks full of clothes that are still left up here. I'll give you some to wear. Then I'll try and find out how I can be rid of you once and for all. Listen, you shouldn't be human, you shouldn't be here, and you shouldn't be chasing after me. What we had ended fifty seven years ago, and it's not coming back anytime soon. It's over. Will you please leave me alone?"

"I'm not chasing after you, Danny, I swear! I know we're not mates anymore and you don't want a mate." He nodded. Then paused. "Hey! Damian! You called me Damian! I really do have a name, just like you do! Isn't that cool?"

"Yeah," She gave a pitying smile. "Real cool." Damian smiled back, then moaned and grabbed at his chest, gasping in pain. "What's wrong?" She demanded icily, ignoring the little leap her heart did. No, it wasn't because she cared for the only companion she would have for a while. Of course not. It was just, well, if he expired in this human body quickly, what if she did as well? What if she wasn't as stable as she thought she was. "Are you dying?"

"No," He moaned. "I just hurt." He looked up at her with wide eyes and took on a snappish tone, "Don't smile anymore! It makes my heart try and kill itself. What's wrong with me, Danny? Why do I hurt so bad?"

Danny cocked her head to the side and began to twist her hair in thought. "Well," she finally said, "I haven't the slightest idea. It must be a human thing. Come on now, Damian. We have to get you clothes and figure out how you got this way, because you _must _be wrong and confused about how this happened. Hurry up, I don't know how long they're going to be downstairs for, and I don't want to take the chance."

**

* * *

**

Well, there you are. I got it up before New Years, just like I inspired too! Even with all the family interruptions, million of reviews (which I thank if any of the people who reviewed Slip of the Tongue carried over here. I'm at 270 now!) and a few story updates I managed. It's not really something you should care about, it's just a personal accomplishment. So, three cheers for me. Voices, let's go!  
Voices: …free beer, and you're the only one who cares that you're underage. Bye.  
Me: Aw, fudge. Well, review if you care too! I'm only, like, thirty away from one hundred! Woot, woot!

ThAnKs To AlL wHo ReViEw! It MaKeS yOuR aUtHoR sMiLe!


	14. Chapter 14

90 REVIEWS! THANK Y'ALL FROM A STATE THAT SUCKS AT SPORTS! –grumbles- We never win fricken _anything_! We come super close then we loose and my high school lost to their biggest rival after a nine year winning streak. Humph, we let the bast…boys win.

**Why I write Ash the way I do: **I've gotten a few reviews on both my stories about this, (none of them angry, so thank you for that! I appreciate the advice!) so I just want to say that I write Ash different. I like him the way he was at the beginning. He _was _stupid, but he was also witty. I just figure that he gets a bit wittier over time, as well as he learns about the birds and the bees. He's grown up, so he makes grown up jokes, and I really did think he was a smartass and insulting at the beginning. I understand if you don't write him that way. If anyone wants to debate me on this, go ahead and PM. I've seen every episode of the first season about twenty times. I know my material, and I'm always up for an argument.

* * *

**Chapter 14**

"I've been thinking," Misty said carefully. She was laying down in the bottom of what was once the cabana, the sun finally deciding to set beyond the horizon. It wasn't night yet, just dusk, and the group (except Drew and May) were all curled up in front of a crackling fire, drinking hot chocolate and watching another children's movie, "Enchanted" it was called. The main character was actually freaking her out a bit, but she was laughing. Her sister had said she had seen it already, but that was back when she was a teenager. It was brand new to her for now. It was peaceful until she spoke. The three words caused absolutely everyone to stiffen. "No, don't worry. I still want to be sixteen. I've got no problems being nine, except, maybe, the fact that I'm not sixteen yet." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "But I thought of a _major_ flaw in our plan."

"What?" Ash asked. "I think it's a great plan. I mean, who's better to tell us what we were like than us?"

"Anyone but us?" Misty groaned. "I lie. I know I lie. I lie to everything. I lie to my family. I lie to my friends. I lie to pokémon. So I'm trying to think why I'd bother spilling my innermost secrets to a little book that could be read by anyone. I mean, I don't mind writing what I think about other people. I'd write down 'Ash was a jerk today, so I hit him' if I did. But, the diaries do have a lock on them, so there's a small possibility that I'd tell the truth. However, if I did tell the truth, it's not going to tell me about me. Really, who writes about _themselves_ in their own diary besides Gary because he's totally self centered." She paused and took a slow, deep, breath. This would probably unsettle Ash a bit. "Uh, I think instead of reading our own diaries, we should trade. I'll read your diary," Ash glared, but not for the reason you'd think. "Sorry, sorry. I'll read your _journal_, because boys keep _journals _and girls keep _diaries_ and blah, blah, blah," she rolled her eyes. Ash beamed. "We'll read each other's. Happy now?"

"No!" Ash yelped. "What if I had a crush on a girl and you read about it?"

"Then I'd tease you until you cried, duh," Misty snorted. "But you can do the same to me. It's a lose/lose situation. We're both screwed, but it's the only way to solve the problem." Ash crossed his arms over his chest. "Fine, the best way, not the only way. Ash, it couldn't be that bad, could it? Who could we possibly have crushes on that could be embarrassing to one another? Unless, of course, one of us turns out gay, which I wouldn't prosecute you for at all," she recovered.

"Oh! Can I answer the question?" Max sniggered, walking in. "Hey, everyone. Mom and Dad just went on a three month vacation to the Bahamas, they said I could watch the gym! Then I walked in and I end up here. So, since he's usually stuck in this situation, I look for Ash, and here I am." (A/N: …Yeah, I meant to do that. I was just trying to illustrate people were coming in still. It's not like, you know, I _forgot _my favorite little pimp. –nervous laugh-)

"Who? Is it someone pretty?" Ash asked eagerly.

"You are so vain!" Misty gasped, smacking his shoulder roughly.

"_Each other_," Max exaggerated. "Does anyone know where my sister is?"

Natty walked in, smiling, with a Brian and a new girl holding her hands, then frowned. "Crap, my conscience. Come on, Max. I know where your sister is. I'll take you to her. Do me a favor, ignore the little girl on my right, please. Her name is Sara, and she has mental problems."

"I have seventeen fingers!" Sara said excitedly, holding up her clearly ten fingered hand. Max gawked.

"See? She's completely nutso looney crazy," Natty rolled her eyes. "Come on, li'l pimp. Let's go on an adventure." And with that they were gone, seemingly to absolutely no purpose, but you'd be pretty surprised at the weird things that gone on in this word.

"That's impossible!" Misty denied with a huff. "If we liked each other, we should fall for each other no matter what age we are. We should be hardwired to love one another for their personality, looks, ability, everything that makes you, you. I should love you right now. No matter if I have memories or not," she scowled. "It shouldn't affect a thing. I mean, why aren't we kissing right now? We should be locked in a never ending passionate embrace."

"You are," Daisy rolled her eyes.

"What? No we're not!" Misty shouted. "I don't even _like _boys yet! I still think they're ugly and gross and disgusting and…" She trailed off and glanced at the playfully glaring Ash. "Don't you dare! If you lay one finger on me I'll-" Unfortunately, it would never be known what Misty would do, as she was tackled into the ground and thoroughly wrestled with, bitten once or twice, then sitting on top of an easily pinned Ash. "No offense, Ash. I was just talking about boys in general, you in particular."

"Wow, Ash is a loser no matter what ago he is!" Gary snickered. Mist looked up sharply, and cocked her head to the side, wondering if she could take him down. It would probably be a hard fight, but she might win in the end. It wasn't safe, she couldn't tell how strong he was through the loose fitting shirt. If only he had worn something tighter, she would've been able to judge the muscles on him. Also, if he discovered her most closely guarded secret, she was done for.

"Watch your back," Misty muttered. "I've got two people I can trust, Ash and Danny. It's not smart to insult either one of them, or I'll kill you in your sleep. Don't think I can't. I'm a very powerful little girl." She rolled off of Ash and let him sit up. He played with his hat for a minute, then smiled cheerfully as if nothing had gone wrong. "Anyway, Daisy, we're not in love, and you can't do a single thing to prove it. Go ahead and try! You'll never get it!"

"Ahem," Daisy said, gently tapping her engagement ring.

"Oh, what's that supposed to mean?" Misty rolled her eyes. "That we're going to get married? Very funny, Daisy. Sometimes you're less mature than I am!" Daisy continued to tap her ring finger patiently, a little smirk threatening to appear on her face. "What do you want from me? Primape see, Primape do? Here, I'll mimic meowth you." She held up her hand tapped the same place, her nail hitting something that wasn't flesh. "What's that?" She yelped in surprise, grabbing her hand. She slowly brought it up to her face, and began to flush. It was the ring Ash had given her since they were 'married'. "Heh heh."

"Yeah," Daisy nodded. "You made fun of me, but you shouldn't have, should you?"

"Sorry Daisy," Misty blushed. She looked at Ash. "So what do you say? Do you want to exchange diaries?" Ash glared again. "Ash! I would love to exchange your _journal _for my _diary_. This is stupid! It's like saying there's a difference between dolls and action figures! They're the same thing!" Ash's mouth dropped open in horror, as Misty had just committed the greatest sin known to young boys, and tackled her into the ground with an angry yell. He was pinned in a matter of seconds. "They're the same thing, Ash!"

"No they're not! There's a huge difference!" Ash protested. He struggled feebly under her to no avail. "Gary will agree with me, won't you Gary?" He looked hopefully at his rival, now much older than him, and probably much better at beating him up.

"Shut up, Ash. I'm watching the movie," Gary snapped, which earned him a few stares. "What? It's an interesting movie! And action figures are way different from dolls. Dolls are for girls, action figures are for guys, duh."

"Ash, if you don't want to, we don't have to," Misty said quietly, sliding off of him. Ash sat up and crossed his legs, cocking his head to the side quizzically. "I can't believe you forgot what we were talking about already! You're so…ugh!" She slammed her head forehead into her hands and shook it back and forth. She spoke through her hands, "The journals, Ash, we were going to trade journals. Do you want to, or not?"

"Sure."

"Sure?" Misty yelped. She yanked her head up to glare at him. "Are you completely insane? I mean, you write secrets in there! All the stuff you don't want to say is in there! You're fine with me just picking up and reading it? You're crazy! I could probably make you cry with the stuff I'd find out about you! You wouldn't be able to, because you're too nice and you know it! I have no problem making fun of _you_, though, Ash!"

"I thought you wanted to do this!" Ash scrambled away, closer to his mother, his comfort zone. Maybe his mom would step in for once and stop Misty from beating him senseless. "It's no big deal! I mean, I don't know what I wrote in there. I won't know what I wrote in there until you already read it. I probably didn't even write anything interested. The only reason I kept a journal was because my mom said I should. She said if I ever became a pokémon master people might buy it."

"I can't see your name being on a book cover," Misty said thoughtfully.

"I know, I can't either," he laughed lightly. "So, do _you _want to change journals?"

Misty whimpered, "You were supposed to talk me out of this stupid plan. Of course, you have to go and be a boy about it! You don't mind sharing your secrets because you don't know what they are yet. You're acting as if it's someone else's problem, but it's yours! I mean, it's you!"

"Well, you're smart, right?" Ash asked. Misty shrugged. "Yeah, you are. You're good at figuring out people and pokémon, right? If you know all my secrets now, then you'll probably know them when I'm grown up too. There's no point in hiding something you already know. Go ahead and take my journal. I promise I won't tease you about anything I find in yours." He grinned. "Blackmail, yeah, but I won't tease you about it."

"You're going to blackmail me?"

"_You're_ going to blackmail me!" Ash cried.

"Then I'm going to blackmail you!" Misty huffed. She marched over to the two small piles of spiral notebooks, and snatched the one on the left. "I've got your journals, go get mine. I'm totally going to blackmail you, because I hate you!" This led into a long, confusing rant that Daisy had long since learned to tune out, but everyone else couldn't help but to listen to (Misty had one loud voice, that was for sure) and admire Misty's, ahem, creative threats.

Ash whined, "But Misty! There's one more really, really big problem!" She stopped her tirade to eye him quietly. "See, uh, how am I supposed to read your handwriting? It's pretty bad." She gasped in anger, her eyes wide. Ash quickly recovered. "I'll get through it! Just kidding! I didn't mean it! Don't kill me, please." He automatically covered his face and curled up tight, hiding all the soft, vulnerable parts of his body." Still angry, she stormed out of the cabana and sat outside in the sand, beginning to tear through the journals as fast as she could, looking for something useful (but not really having much luck) Ash threw his hands up tiredly and shuffled over to the pile of books. "You know, I can't do _anything_. I guess the movie's not going to be fun anymore. I'll just go _read._ Yeah, that's something I love to do," He grumbled. "What guy doesn't love to read some stupid girl's journal? All it's going to be is, 'oh, my hair was really bad today,' " He began in a pathetic imitation of Misty's voice. "Or maybe, 'oh, that guy we saw today was _soooooo_ dreamy!' "

"Misty's standing behind you," Gary said casually. Ash shrieked, dropped the books, and fell to his protective position again. The people around him began to laugh, and Gary finished, still in the casual tone, "Oh, just a shadow, my bad."

"Gary!"

**

* * *

**

May smoothed her dress. It was nice. There were no sleeves, just a simple floor length red dress. (A/N: Listen, I'd give her another fricken color but I know nothing about fashion. Maybe she looks good in purple, I don't know. She wears red. And it's a dress. What the hell do you want from me?) She smiled at Drew as she pulled out her rubber bands to let her hair fall down her back. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think that I don't want to be in a tux," Drew muttered, shifting uncomfortably, staring down at himself.

"Drew! Look at me!"

"Why?" He growled, looking up. He looked her up and down, a bit surprised at her wardrobe change, but nodded. "You look nice. Although, it could be fancier. You don't want to add anything to the dress? Change the cut, add more colors, make it shiny?"

"I don't know a lot about dresses," May blushed. "I don't wear them that often, and this is the best thing I can think of. I could add sparkles though." She did so, the dress glittering lightly in the dimly lit room. "I'm in flats."

"Thanks for sharing?" Drew said uncertainly.

"Only because if I was in heels, I'd be way too tall for you," she giggled, bouncing on her heels a bit as his eyes narrowed. "We can have anything you'd like, you know." She turned her head down and walked forward swiftly to a table in the grand dining hall. "You can have any dinner, any dessert, any drink. We don't even need a waiter, but I think it might be nice if we did. It'll make it feel more…real."

"Nothing feels real here," Drew replied coolly, sitting down across from her. "Why couldn't you have just gone to a burger joint, May? You didn't need to make it fancy for it not to be beach themed. You could've made a fifties themed restaurant." He sighed and lowered his head to the table. "I wouldn't have minded a leather jacket. I don't even know why I'm staying here with you. I should just leave." He began to stand up.

"Don't leave," May pleaded. "Please? I don't want to be alone. I know it's an imaginary restaurant, and the people aren't real, and we're not on a date or anything…" She stopped and looked down at her hands. "But, Drew, if I'm sitting here, all alone, in a fancy dress, it feels like I just got stood up." She bit her lip and looked up at him. "I really don't want to get stood up, even in a fake restaurant. You don't want me to, do you?"

Drew rubbed his temples and sighed. Mew, he had to _care _if she cried, didn't he? He plopped back down in the chair. "You've guilt-ed me into it. I hope you're proud of yourself. What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't want to talk," She smiled, "Just eat some good, fresh food in somewhere nice." A small center cut filet sat on the plate that appeared in front of her, surrounded by steaming mashed potatoes and a few sprigs of parsley.

Drew rolled his eyes. Sure, she couldn't make a pretty dress, but when it came to her dinner she knew exactly what she wanted. Judging by the quality of the steak, she wasn't one to go for the cheapest thing on the menu either. If they were ever going to date, he would go broke. Not that he ever planned on dating her. She wasn't even a good date. She didn't want to talk to him. She didn't look at him. She had expensive tastes. Most importantly, she didn't even know how to dress properly. Sure, a dress that was nice. Still, if he was expected to dress up and be uncomfortable, she should at least be in heels. She should be in a nice, tight dress so he could stare at her chest all night long and try and drown out the boring girl stuff she wanted to talk about. All the while, she should order nothing but a salad, because she was terrified of gaining too much weight. If she did gain too much weight, she would be sent into a spiral of shame, sadness, and several eating disorders because she wasn't perfect enough for him.

But perhaps his standards were too high.

"I'm hungry too," He said finally. She looked up at him, smiled a bit, then went back to her dinner. She was trying to muffle her chuckling but barely succeeding. "May, I'm not kidding. I'm hungry too. Could you get me a waiter or something?"

"No," She said, starting to laugh. "Why don't you wish for something?"

"I've said it a million times," He growled. "I'm not very good at imagination."

"You don't need to imagine it," May shrugged. "You just have to want it. If you really, really want it, and just focus on it, then it'll happen. Close your eyes, and make a wish. Try it out, if you can't get it, I'll do it for you." Drew stared at her. "Close your eyes, hurry up!"

"I'm not going to close my eyes."

"Why not?"

"Because it's _stupid,_ that's why." She frowned at him, and went back to her meal again. He sighed loudly. "Fine, I'll close my eyes and make a wish. When nothing happens, I'll get you to whip something up for me, like you should've done at the beginning, like a good little fangirl." She made an angry noise and glared up at him. "What? You don't think you're a fangirl? You're just another one of the girls that think I'm the greatest thing since canned chips."

"Excuse me?" She gasped.

"Once you pop, you just can't-"

"I am _not _one of your fangirls," She said indignantly. "I will never be one of your fangirls. I am stressed, I am angry, and you really shouldn't mess with me right now. I have every weapon in the world at my fingertips, and you're unarmed! You can't make a single thing appear from nowhere! I can do lots of stuff, and you know I can too. Even though the circumstances have changed, though luck is on my side, you still have to go and be a total jerk to me! You're not better than me, especially not in here." She stood up, furious. "I want you to stop. Apologize to me right now, or you're not going to like me."

"I don't like you now," Drew snapped.

"Take. It. Back." May said, balling up her fists at her sides. "Or if you don't, I swear I'm gonna-"

"What? Put me in an ugly dress?" Drew snickered. "You still don't have an advantage in here. You can't do a single thing to me! What could you imagine up that would hurt me in any way?" May rolled her eyes and picked up the heavy steak knife she had been cutting her meat with. "Yes, May, I'm completely convinced that you'll stab me with a steak knife and leave me for dead in this restaurant. That is exactly the kind of thing you would do."

"I just can't handle you anymore," May said tiredly. "I just can't handle any of this. I don't know what's going on. I don't know if my family's okay. I don't know where my brother is, where my parents are, where the rest of my friends are. Aren't you worried? People out there could be _dead _right now. It could be apocalyptic out there." Drew was tempted to compliment her on the big word, but thought better of it. "I'm worried."

"I can't make the world a better place, May," Drew said slowly. "I don't know what you want me to do here."

"Be my friend," May sighed. "Just like you did upstairs. What happened that you started acting like a jerk right away? What changed? Did I do something wrong? Did I get you mad? Upstairs, I was starting to think we could be friends, that we could get along."

"We can," He said. "We did."

"So why aren't we now?" May said desperately. "Please, Drew, I want that back. I need a good friend. I hardly see Ash anymore, I barely saw Misty to begin with. I never see Harley. No one else seems to want to talk to me. It turns out that contestants are a little more competitive than I thought. I'm the person to beat now. No one wants to interact with me because of all the rumors. All the magazines say I cheat, and all kinds of mean stuff. I can't keep reading."

"There's good stuff too," Drew crossed his arms over his chest stiffly. "You just need to look for it. It'll take a while, but you'll find it eventually."

"If you're trying to change the topic, it's not going to work," May said with a sad smile. "Please, Drew. I'm begging, see? Can't you just tell me what's going on? I need to know. I won't think any differently. You need to let me know. If you hate me, or if I've done something…"

"You haven't done anything wrong."

"Then tell me why you keep attacking me!" She cried. "I can't take it anymore. Every time I open my mouth you find something wrong with what I'm saying. I'm never right. Nothing I do is ever good enough. I don't need to live up to your standards, I don't need you to compliment me, but can't you lay off? Or when you're teasing, can't you sound like you're teasing instead of sounding like you hate me? Why do you keep doing this?"

Drew swallowed. "I can't tell you."

"Yes you can."

"No, May," He said, half laughing. "I can't. I can't at all. If I told you, you probably wouldn't believe me. And if you did believe me, you probably wouldn't want to talk to me again. You'd hate me. I'll try and stop insulting you every minute. I'll cut it out."

"You don't need to change, I just need to know why."

"I can't tell you why."

"Drew, yes you can! I swear!"

"You want to know?" Drew snapped. "You really want to know?" May nodded. "I might as well tell you. May, you're not a fangirl. I know you don't hate me. I know you think of me as a friend. You're the first girl who's ever done that. You're the first girl who's looked past the outside and saw who I really was. You challenged me, you annoyed me, you made me talk to you. You made me pull out of my shell and actually care about someone else, I had to care about what you thought about yourself and me. I hadn't felt that way in a long time, a really long time. You know what I realized that you don't want to hear? You know what I don't want to tell you?"

"What?" May asked. "What could be that bad? You're in love with me then?"

"Congrats," He said, eyes narrowed. "You finally figured something out on your own. Are you going to run into my arms, or throw something at me?" May did neither. Her mouth dropped open, the knife clattered to the floor, and she stared. "The awkward, silent, stare. Great, I've always wanted one of those, how did you know just what to get me?" He turned and stormed out the front door, not really caring that May's little brother and the three islands freaks were gawking.

They each had their own question to ask, all in complete shock, they went as follows:  
Max: Drew confessed first?  
Natty: Drew isn't gay?  
Brian: You guys actually care about other people's love lives?  
Sara: I only have fourteen fingers? Who cut off two of my fingers?

May, meanwhile, had hundreds of questions to ask, but only one that mattered, and she couldn't even ask it out loud. Instead, she let the fantasy world collapse around her, leaving her in travel clothes on a hot, sandy beach, moaning. She curled up on the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. Mew, she was so confused. She didn't know how she felt. A few days ago, she wanted nothing more than to kiss him. Now, she wasn't sure how she felt. He wasn't just a crush anymore. Before anything else, he was her _friend._ Did she even like him in that special way? Could she even think about him as a potential boyfriend? She could imagine it, yes, but it didn't even seem like something possible. She curled up tighter and clenched her hands. She thought, _what am I supposed to do now?_

**

* * *

**

"You've finally got clothes you can put on by herself," Danny nodded at the boy in a t-shirt in jeans, much like herself. It'd been a long week. Being a human teenage female with a human teenage male in the house wasn't the easiest thing in the world, as she learned. In fact, it was quite difficult without someone telling her about puberty. Thank goodness for Google.

"And you've finally figured out how to use a tampon," He replied cheerfully. She hated him. Not a hint of taunting in that voice. He had to be so innocent. Also, she was much more irritable than usual. Besides that, she had cried three times in the past two days for no apparent reason. They ran out of her favorite chips, and she had begun to sob every time she saw the empty bag in the garbage. She couldn't make a new bag without someone wishing for it.

"We're never talking about the tampon again."

"Why can't we talk about the tampon?" He asked innocently.

"Because we can't! We're not talking about anything like that!" She snapped, glaring.

"Aw, but I liked all that stuff, it was so interesting. We never learned about that kind of stuff as Unown." He rolled over playfully on the bed. Dark hair, dark eyes, face sharp, white teeth permanently flashing in a smile, every feature she once loved was now turning into the features she matched with pure hatred. "Tampons and pads and periods and condoms and STD's! Those were really sad. Who knew babymaking could kill so many each year? How much must that hurt, to know your lifemate not only had had sex with someone else, but was very sick from it. Not only that, but they could get you sick too! Oh, and then your young got very sick too! How sad."

"Can we not talk about this anymore?" Danny shivered.

Damian smiled. "I guess. Those videos made me feel strange though. You know, when we didn't know what 'sex' meant so we tried to look it up and all that kind of stuff popped up? Then we had to look up stuff about a guy's-"

"Damian, I don't want to talk about it!" Danny cried, slamming her hands over her ears and gasping, her cheeks flaming red. "I don't want to hear about it. I don't need to know. I was there the first time, I saw _everything_, remember?"

"Why are you so red, Danny?" He asked sweetly. "You getting sick? I can get medicine! We've got lots of medicine in the cabinet. I can find the one for fever, because that's what you have! We looked that one up too. Oh! Wait! You could also be embarrassed, and that's why you blushed. Is that why you're blushing? You're embarrassed, Danny?" He took a few steps closer to her. She lashed out and slammed him onto the wall, glaring.

"Shut. Up."

"I still don't know whether you're embarrassed or sick though," Damian said innocently. "Getting mad could happen in either case. I'm trying my best to learn, Danny. I watched a lot of TV and read lots of books before turning human so I wouldn't be so stupid." Danny gave a primal growl, her nails digging deeply into his shoulders and twisting, trying to deliver pain through the thin red shirt. It didn't appear to have much affect, so she dug her nails deeper. "Ow, Danny, careful. You're hurting me."

"I know, I'm trying to."

"Why you trying to hurt me Danny?" Damian asked innocently. "Is it because you're on your period."

"You are so…" She began, then reverted to the primal growl. It was one of the three main sounds Unown could make with their mouths, rather than using their minds. "I should kill you where you stand, be rid of one problem."

"But Danny," He whined. "If I die in this form, I die in both forms. Are you sure you're not just deliriously sick?" She continued to growl, pushing her vocal chords to go as deep as they could. Even the dumbest of all pokémon could understand what that sound meant, but Damian couldn't. He leaned forward and slowly touched his lips to her forehead. The growl stopped instantly, and Damian pulled back. "Well, you don't feel hot."

"Damian!" She gasped. She stumbled back and slapped him hard across the face. "Don't do that, Damian! DO you know what you just did?" He shook his head no. "That was the same as pressing! That's what humans call kissing! That's part of mating!"

"No it's not," Damian laughed, realizing she had made a mistake. "That's only if you touch lips to lips, and sometimes, when you start kissing someone _all _over. Just kissing on the forehead isn't that. That's how you tell how hot someone is."

"You could've used your hands," She protested.

"Your elbows wouldn't let my hands move."

"You could've asked me to get off!"

"I'm sorry!" Damian cried. He slid down the wall and held his hands up to stop any oncoming attack. She'd beaten him several times in the short while he'd been there. He didn't mind. She really wasn't as strong as she thought she was and it didn't hurt him. At any point, he was quite sure he could toss her off if he wanted. "I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Danny. I'm real sorry. Don't get mad at me, please? I didn't mean to do it. I know you're upset."

"No shit, what clued you in?" Danny snapped.

"I can make this better."

"How?"

"I have an idea," Damian smiled. "See, you know how you really want to see Misty, but you don't want her to see you?" Danny nodded. "Well, what if we put on disguises and went down there. They'd just think we were trainers, they'd never know. People only see what they want to see. If Misty doesn't want to see you down there, and doesn't think you're down there, then she's not going to notice you."

"That's not a bad idea," she said thoughtfully.

"Really?" Damian said delightedly. She groaned inwardly. She was expecting him to be relieved, not to be happy. Didn't he know he was an inch away from her pulling out her psychic powers and ripping him to shreds. "I can't wait to do this!"

"Why?"

"I get to play with make up!" he said, clapping his hands.

Danny rolled her eyes up to the ceiling. "You find this funny, don't you? He's going to draw all over my face with a magic marker, we're going to go down there, and I'm going to get put right back on the spot and have to wait a year for Misty to come up and decide she hates me. My entire plan will collapse, and I'll be trapped back inside that box with the idiot over there who thinks that it's okay to kiss me, even though it's just like pressing."

"I'm sorry, who are you talking to?" Damian inquired politely.

"The enemy of thine master. If I looked down and spoke, I'd be speaking to the one who commands you." She muttered. "That's what your name is supposed to mean. What it's come to represent? It's basically the child of the devil."

"What's the devil?"

"Jesus Christ!" She said, enjoying her new word she had learned on one of her many Google searches.

"Jesus Christ is the devil?"

"You know what? I'm not going to explain religion to you. We're going to teach you to use Google, you're going to learn all about disguises, and then we're going to go downstairs and fix this whole mess. We're going to keep the plan going."

"Until the little girl learns the lesson of the Unown and we're sent back into the box," Damian said brightly. Danny groaned, but didn't bother to correct him. She was getting tired of repeating herself, and, honestly, what was the point? He would just ask her about it again and again, and there went her patience.

**

* * *

**

Now, it was all a matter of time.

Would Misty and Ash grow up before Danny got downstairs?

Would Damian be able to do his research fast enough?

And how long was it going to take for the subplot romance to happen?

**

* * *

**

Well, here's a chapter for you! Review if you'd wish. I'm trying to get to an update a week! Yeah!

…Okay, that's probably not going to happen, but I shall try! Wish me luck, fellow readers!


	15. Chapter 15

ONE HUNDRED REVIEWS! WHOO! I LOVE Y'ALL WITH THE BURNING GLORIOUS INTENSITY OF A MILLION TRICK CANDLES! –Authoress does the one hundred reviews dance-  
I'm so happy I might…give each chapter a title! Okay, well, maybe not, but this one has one!  
I'm sorry 'bout two weeks absence. I've been so freaking busy! I'm sorry it's been two weeks! It's just…I can't write this one on notebook paper. It's just not working. I have to type it. This mean I can only work on it on the rare occasion I have time when I get home from school. Updates might be slower…heh, sorry there.  
By the way, don't take anything I write in here as a preference of mine. I hate Fall Out Boy with a passion. I love Enchanted. I'm a queen of Disney trivia. I hate rap and pop. I try not to get the characters into the same things I do, for fear I will warp them to my evil ways. That'd be sad, wouldn't it?

* * *

**Chapter 15 – Black Rose Feelings**

Dear Diary,

I skipped a few days, huh? It's been a while since I've wrote. I've been busy, can't help it. See, after I got out of the gym(don't get excited, we're not free yet!) and started fishing, I caught something! It wasn't a tentacool though. I really hoped it would be. It was a boy. Some stupid kid got hooked on my reel and I dragged him onto shore. I guess weight lifting really did help my strength, because he came right out of the water. I was proud until I saw him. Wet, ugly, poor little thing he was. At first I wanted to hug him. Oh, not the boy, the Pikachu. He's so cute! He seems to like me too and I really like to hold him. I love that Pikachu! It's so

_/There was a long, jerked line of pen down the page, the ink disappearing for a second where it had been driven through the paper, then came back out./_

Sorry I left off. I just ruined a page! An entire page! I can't believe this. I write small to conserve paper, I use both sides of the page, I know I won't be getting another diary soon! I need as much paper as possible and he just ruined.

He? He is Ash. Ash, the boy I picked up, is an idiot. He was reading over my shoulder and blurted out that Pikachu is a girl, not a guy. Idiot. Why would you do that? Now that I'm thinking about it, guess what diary? He destroyed my bike! Yeah, Ash totally destroyed it. It was completely fried! Everything was black, it barely went when I pushed it. I ditched it behind the Pokémon Center near the trash can. It should get thrown out. If not…what happens, happens.

Anyway, back to Ash. I hate him. I hate him, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate the stupid fat idiot! All he does is eat and sleep! He's loud and obnoxious. I have to write this in a freaking tree so he won't look. There could be bugs in the tree. He caught a bug too! A stupid, disgusting bug. It was a caterpie. It's totally a worm! It's all squishy and…ew! He wanted…he wanted me to touch it! He's so annoying! I hate him so much! I just want to kick him!

Okay, well, there's another reason to me hitting him besides him being stupid. Do you know how soothing it is to whack someone over the head with a mallet? Years of payback from what my sisters did to me! They always whack me! I hate them! Stupid sisters. I hope they die!

No. I don't want them to die. I'm just mad at them right now.

With Ash, well, maybe I'm kind of mean to him. After all, he is really nice to all his pokémon. He's never mean to them, or hits them. I mean, the worst he did was use rope and a rubber glove to control his Pikachu to stop him from attacking. I know lots of people who do worse. Greg beat up his pokémon. I beat him up when I found out though. Had to go to the stupid principal and talk to the stupid psychiatrist with the Harassment Eevee. Then, of course, they thought I had problems at home and it turned into the Sexual Harassment Eevee asking me 'where my father touched me'. My dad didn't molest me. He spanked me. Harassment Eevee. That thing was weird. Scared me to death.

I don't know what to say about him. Ash, I mean. He's weird. He's nice, but he's weird. I like him, but I hate him. It's weird.

There really isn't anything else to say. Other than meeting Ash, life's been boring. I'm going to be traveling with him until I get my stupid bike back. Hope it's soon. Then I'll get to leave stupid Ash and his stupid bug and his stupid face and his stupid stupidity! I hate him! I'm getting repetitive, I know, but he's just so crazy! He doesn't know anything! He wanted to send a caterpie against a pidgey or something! I mean, it was a flying type! How stupid do you have to be?

BIRDS EAT WORMS.

He's an idiot, but I guess I'm stuck with him for a while. I should be good for a while. He's got a decent Pikachu that should keep me safe. It's nice to not be alone. I'm not really used to quiet. Growing up with those three psychos, is it really a wonder why?

I've got to stop writing. He's starting to bug me. Literally. He's shoving the worm at me.

If I kill him, it's not my fault. He asked for it. Call it assisted suicide, not murder.

**

* * *

**

The ten year old Ash set down the diary, slowly turning it in his hands. It was actually pretty amazing. She'd slipped in those little words that helped him remember all those key moments. The rope and rubber gloves shot him back to the very first day of training, getting that pokémon. His mother packed those rubber gloves along with his clothes, sleeping bag, and you-know-what's. Pikachu zapped everything she'd touched.

Still, he was ten. He simply could not see any error he had made in his past.

He picked it back up for a while, reading ahead in the diary, entry after entry while nibbling on some curly fries he had wished up earlier. He slid down from his sitting position on his back after a while and shut his eyes, sighing. Memories were flooding back, slowly but surely they were coming. He knew Brock, Misty, his pokémon, and, surprisingly, he knew himself even more than he had before. There was two levels of awareness. The first were his own memories, his own flaws smoothed over, his good traits emphasized. Then, there was Misty's side of the story. Most of the things she wrote weren't about her, unless it was a hate rant. She had quite a few of those, at least one for every person they had met. Other than that, he got the facts. He learned what he said, how he said it, how the other person responded. It felt like he was reading a transcript of his life with little commentary from the writer.

Yet his thoughts kept revolving around one point.

"Does she hate me?" He wondered aloud. It was confusing. She kept writing what a horrible person he was. He explained why she hated him, but then she explained why she didn't. So, it didn't make sense. Did she like him, or hate him? This was weird. He needed something to occupy his time with. He'd met Misty, what, five days ago? He'd known Pikachu an entire day longer, but he was starting to get attached to the little mouse. She'd be the perfect distraction. "Pikachu!" He called. "Where are you?"

(Ash?) Pikachu asked cautiously, bounding towards him. (You back to normal?)

"What's normal, Pikachu?"

(I mean, are we best buddies again?) She asked hopefully. Pikachu trotted forward hopefully and twisted her head with interest. Ash reached out his hand and began to scratch that special spot behind her ears. She squealed and leaped into his lap, cuddling excitedly. (You are back! What's been going on with you? I can barely understand what all these people are saying! I've missed you, Ash!) She licked his hand gently.

"I know most of what you're saying," Ash smiled at her, scratching behind her ears. "You asked what's going on, didn't ya?" Pikachu nodded eagerly. "I'm not exactly sure. It's got to do with these creatures called Unown. They supposedly made us younger, we used to be sixteen! Now I'm ten again. I wonder if I got all my badges? I wonder if I know a lot more training secrets? Am I a good trainer Pikachu, or am I mean?"

(You're incredible, Ash,) Pikachu explained. (You're always kind and sweet to your pokémon. You're not the best battler in the world, but…) She smiled and wriggled her nose in Ash's stomach, tickling the boy. (You have your moments, silly boy.)

"Quit it!" He giggled, pulling her away. He rubbed his stomach self consciously. "Don't do that! It tickles! Jees, how did you figure out how to do that?" Pikachu grinned. "Oh, right, you've been with me for, er, six years?" She nodded and began to lick his cheek affectionately. He giggled. "You're normally not this, uh, cuddly. Most of the time you're trying to zap me. Sometimes you'll let me touch you but…"

(We got closer as time went on,) She said. She leaped gracefully form his lap with a call over her shoulder. (Come here, Ash, bring the diary. We're going to go see your other pokémon. Do you know them yet, Ash?)

"I know my pokémon," Ash grinned. "But I don't know if I know all of them. Do I catch a lot?"

Pikachu sighed, wondering what to say to the boy as she led him deeper into the woods. (You, uh, caught pokémon and you treated them well. You caught what you needed, not excess. Well, the tauros was pushing it, but it was necessary I suppose. Ash, don't worry about it. You're not done with your pokémon journey, I wouldn't be surprised if you never are. You love adventuring too much to settle down just yet, so relax.) She trotted back to him and leaped up on his shoulder. (Forward march, Ashton. Get those legs of yours working. There's nothing wrong with a boy getting his exercise and a lady taking a rest.)

"You're not a lady."

(You want to be zapped?) Pikachu growled. (Neither I nor Misty much appreciate the comments about our gender, thank you very much. If you ever pulled that with May or Dawn…well, honestly, you'd be an idiot. That's so unbelievable it's not even funny.)

Ash shoved his hands in his pockets and tilted his head back lazily. He groaned. "I don't even think I want to read her diary anymore. It's so much work." He kicked the sand and shuffled into the trees. There was a thin path, barely big enough for the small sized pokémon to race on. Of course, he had to take the pokémon trail. He would probably reach the clearing and there, low and behold, would be a convenient human sized trail. If the universe was really in for a laugh, Misty would do a patented 'Sneak Attack: Target Ash' on the trail and beat him senseless with a coconut. That wasn't fun the last time and he was sure it wouldn't be fun this time either. "I hate reading."

(Ash,) She scolded.

"What?" He laughed lightly.

(You shouldn't act so stupid,) She nuzzled him affectionately. (You're not as dumb as you seem. Can't you show it, silly boy?)

"Where's the fun in that?" He giggled, sweeping Pikachu in his arms and began scratching her between the ears. She squealed happily. "Heh, I know your ticklish spots too, huh Pikachu?" He began scratching her stomach. She turned in his arms and went belly up as he continued to pet her in one of her favorite spots. Her legs began to twitch back and forth lightly at the sensation. He giggled even harder. How strange that his best friend, so dangerous at any other point in time, could be so subdued with just a few strokes of his hand. "You can't beat me! I can act as dumb as I want. Why would I even _want _to act smart?"

(Hmm,) Pikachu said teasingly. She turned over in his arms and grinned up at him. (Maybe because you love that look Misty gives you whenever you say something to show what a good, smart boy you really are?) It was her turn to gigge as Ash began to flush. He, of course, went into that lovely phase of denial that barely made any sense. (Oh, come on, Ash. You don't need to act stupid now. Why don't you defend yourself, Mr. I Can't Be Beaten?)

"Wh-what's to defend?" Ash argued. "I don't like her like that and she doesn't like me like that. I don't even get that romance stuff. The look on her face, ha! What look could that runt ever have on her face that I'd like? Maybe the back of her head as she's leaving."

(You're so cruel,) Pikachu scolded lightly, leaping down from his shoulder. (Sit boy, I'm going to talk to the others. You wait a moment, alright? You better be here when I come back, or I'm going to zap you so bad your kids'll feel it!)

"I'm not gonna have kids," Ash muttered, plopping down in the dirt anyway. Pikachu sniffed at him once before turning her nose up and jogging down the trail. Ash put his elbows on his knees and leaned one his hands, grumbling. "I don't want kids. I don't want some stupid bird breaking into my house and dropping off some ugly, screaming baby. I hate babies. Who'd I even ever get married to? Ya gotta be married to have a baby." He began to reflect on that for a while. Who _would _he marry? He had to marry someone. "Huh, am I allowed to marry my mom? Maybe that'd just be weird. It'd have to be a girl. Someone fun. It'd have to be a friend, someone I knew pretty well. I'm pretty sure it's got to be a girl too. Gary said something about a law that meant two guys couldn't get married. Wonder why?" He looked up at the sky and groaned. "I better meet some girls, because Misty's the only one I know good 'nuff to marry!"

He leaned back slowly and propped himself up with his arms. He groaned again as the minutes ticked by. "Pikachu!" He called.

(Be patient, Ash!) She scolded, coming back from the trees. (Come on. The other pokémon have been waiting for you. They miss you. Move your ass.) Ash stumbled up to his hands and knees, crawling forward a few paces. (All the way up, dumbass. They're more impatient then you are. Besides, don't you want to know everything you've caught?)

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Ash said, beginning to rush. "I wanna see 'em too!" He began running, only to trip and fall flat on his face.

Pikachu rolled her eyes. (Good to have you back, Ash. Good to have you back.)

**

* * *

**

Misty curled up along the edge of the ocean, staring up at the same sky Ash was (at least, she could only hope he hadn't accidentally killed himself yet) the water lapping at her feet. She wriggled them a small smile playing at her lips. The cold water was good at bringing her back to reality. The tides changed much faster here. From what she could tell, ten minutes was all that separated high from low. She'd read a journal entry or two, then the cold water would draw her back to the real world to see how much of her past she could remember clearly. She could remember plenty, which was a great thing, but came with a bitter edge.

She could feel things too. Every page brought a new jolt to her heart. There would be pages that conjured up anger, worry, sadness, joy and all the emotions in between. She'd forgotten the most important thing. Being friends with Ash was the same as constantly riding an emotional roller coaster. She just wanted to throw him in a pokéball, lock it up tight, and only bring him out when the prophecies had passed, the danger had been vanquished, and the badge had been won. It was impossible, she knew, and it was something she could never torture Ash with. It didn't mean it didn't frighten her and chill her heart.

Not just that, but every page was making her feel more and more _alone_. She never really liked being alone. It went against everything she was raised in. She was always around family members, friends, pokémon, anything intelligent. It was a rare occasion that she was by herself, peaceful. Right now, all Misty wanted was to hurl the diary into the ocean and find Ash or Brock or her sisters or even _Gary _to keep her company. Anything had to be better than sitting there, pouring through his writings and wanting to run herself through with a dagger. Ash wasn't the best writer in the world. He barely reported anything that happened. It was all his thoughts, emotions, random ideas poured out on a page of nonsense. She was bored out of her mind and there wasn't a single thing she could do about it.

_I have to read it because I just have to know. I have to know because I want to know. I'm forcing my own tortured soul to sit here and read this garbage even though suicide is looking a lot more tempting right now. Do I hate myself or something? Is that why I'm doing this to me. It can't be tough love, I know that. _She wriggled her feet in the cold sand, remembering why she loved the beach so much before glaring back at the diary in her hands.

She groaned. "I hate me."

"Misty?" May blinked, skidding to a stop in the sand. "Where'd you come from? Forget that! Ugh! Misty, hey, I don't know if you actually know me yet, but I'm May. Hi, nice to meet you. There's a kid with green hair. His name's Drew. Have you seen him? I _really _need to talk to him."

"May, of course I know you, just not as a teenager. You took care of me when I was little," Misty looked up calmly at the older girl. "I'm eleven right now, if that helps you out. Am I anywhere close to meeting you?"

"No. You've got four more years," May said brightly. She stopped and smacked her forehead. "Ugh! Don't get me off track! Misty, have you seen Drew? I hurt his feelings or something, his ticked at me, I need to find him."

"I don't know where he is."

"Have you seen him anywhere? Did he run by here?" May asked hopefully.

"Uh," Misty bit her lip and thought for a moment. "I'm not sure. I think I heard him walk by earlier, but I don't know if it was him. You don't need to worry too much, though. I'm sure he won't be mad at you for long. You're never mean. If I did hear him, not someone who sounded like him, he went off into the woods. I could be wrong. It's a lead though, right? Better than nothing." She smiled reassuringly. May groaned and dropped forward. "Listen, there is one more thing that tipped me off it was him. It's not a sure thing, but it…it seems like it would be something that would come from him." She paused. "If Drew was dark and mysterious."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how Drew always gives you roses?" Misty asked. May nodded curiously. Misty sat up and dug in her pocket, only to lay back down when her hand couldn't fit. Finally, she found it, pulling it out for May to see. It was a black rose petal. "They…they were floating on the wind after I heard the footsteps. I tried to catch a few, but missed most of them. I found a black rose on the ground, and I picked it up. It smelled weird, like a shampoo or something. At first, it smelled like a girl's shampoo, but then it started changing. I mean, it started smelling really good. It must've been a pokémon attack, like attract or something, because I felt all this emotion get built up right here, and here," She put a hand to her stomach and one to her heart. "While I was trying to figure out exactly what it smelled like, it…it hurt me." She held out her hand, balled in a fist but for an extended index finger, and traced a small cut.

May leaned forward and took her hand, conjuring up a cleaning liquid, cotton balls, and a box of bandaids as she did. "You didn't clean it, did you? Of course not. No one ever does. You're on a beach, pokémon are running around, it's going to get infected and covered in pus. Believe me, that's not as cool as it sounds. This is going to sting a bit." She pulled out the cotton balls and squirted the cleaning liquid on it, lightly touching it to the slit. Misty hissed, but her hand didn't do so much as twitch in May's. "Hmm, you're braver than my brother when I comes to this. He tries to run away."

"I've hurt myself too often to really feel the pain anymore," she giggled. "Don't you want to clean the other cuts?" Her hand slowly opened to a series of longer, deeper cuts crisscrossing on her hand. "These still hurt a bit. The sting won't make much of a difference."

"The rose did all this to you?" May asked, surprised. Her voice was frantic, but the cotton ball dabbing her cuts was soft and even.

"Yeah, it hurt pretty bad. I don't even know how it did it. It just came out of nowhere, but that wasn't the weirdest thing. See, I didn't just hurt physically. My entire body just…_ached_. I wanted to cry. It felt like someone had just killed my parents all over again, but different. It hurt so bad. I don't know what the feeling could've been. Do you know what it was, May? Have you ever felt like that? That black rose feeling?"

"Yeah," May said slowly, swallowing. "I know what that black rose feeling is called."

May was quiet, but Misty was curious. She turned her head to the side and leaned forward, very interested. "Well, what's it called?"

"It's…it's the feeling you get when a special someone breaks your heart. It's when you confess your love, and that horrible, horrible," she gulped and fought back tears, "person say anything good, but something bad. They say that they don't feel the same way. They say that they hate you. Sometimes, it's even worse. Sometimes that person just stares at you. Maybe they're just confused, but from where you're standing, it looks like you're some kind of monster, some kind of freak or completely insane."

"Oh, May," Misty gasped, "Who did that to you? I'd hate to hate to feel that way for more than just a second. That must've hurt really badly."

"I'd give anything to feel that way," May whispered, curling up in a ball. "I'd love to be at the other end of this deal." She was starting to cry. Misty, knowing exactly what to do, sat along side her and rubbed her back soothingly, telling her that it would all be okay. It wouldn't, though. This was the absolute worse thing she'd ever done. She stabbed him right through the heart. She'd seen the light of life flee from his eyes. She might as well have been on a battlefield, delivering the final blow. Not to an enemy, though. Drew never really thought of May as an enemy. They were on the same side, wearing the same colors. She'd turned around and betrayed him. She stabbed him. She killed him. It was so much worse to be the sword holder than the dying. She was the one who would have to live with the guilt forever.

She knew what she'd done. She felt guilty. She felt horrible. So why couldn't she bring herself to regret what she'd done?

"May, are you okay?" Misty asked as the sobbing began to slow.

"I'm fine," She sniffled, wiping at her eyes. She got to her feet with a smile. It was fake. It would be see through to anyone who knew her well. In fact, if Misty was her grown up self, she probably could've seen right through the fallacy. Yet, Misty barely knew her, there was no one else around, so the burden would still be hers to bear. "I'm going to try and find Drew, okay Misty? If you see him again, tell me about it." May stood to her feet and walked off.

"Hey, uh," Misty paused, starting to redden. May turned back, curious. "May, would you mind moving that rose for me? It's still in the sand there. It's freaking me out. I want to get it away from me, but I'm afraid to touch it. You've got gloves so…"

"No problem," May said. She picked up the rose and left it in the palm of her hand. "No need to worry, Misty. It's just a flower. There's nothing evil about it. There's no curse on it. It's just a black rose. All you have to do it take a white rose and put it in black dyed water to make one." She blinked and looked back down at her hand. Was it just her or was…yes! The thorn was starting to dig through her gloves, starting to prick her palm, closer to blood. She yelped and dropped it, yanking out Blaziken's pokéball and sending him out. "Blaziken, burn it!" She cried out frantically. The pokémon did as it was told, incinerating the black flower before climbing back inside it's pokéball.

"May!" Misty yelped. "I don't like that thing. Don't let it touch me, please don't! Keep all those black roses away from me!"

"They won't touch you," May said. "Just use pokémon to keep you safe."

"I only have water types!" Misty cried desperately. "That'll just make it grow!"

"Just don't touch it, Misty," May said, quickly striding over to her. "You know that. Just don't touch it and we'll both be fine. How about you go tell other people too, huh? Tell everyone you can find about the black roses, okay? They're dangerous. These things are weird." She paused and searched Misty's frightened face. Misty, _frightened._ "Misty you…you haven't even saved the world yet, have you?"

"Saved the world?" Misty asked questioningly. "I don't understand."

"That's what I thought," May nodded. "Go tell everyone else, alright?"

"Sure," Misty nodded. "It'll be better then reading that crummy old diary anyway." She paused and picked it up, holding it to her chest. Maybe she did have time for some quick reading on the way. "You find Drew, promise me May? You just have to talk it out. I'm sure whatever happened between the two of you will turn out alright. You two are good people. You both like each other as friends or something more than friends. You'll…you'll be alright May. I know you will. All relationships have bumps in the road, look at me and Ash! We fight all the time, but we're still friends at the end of it. Don't worry about it."

"I won't. Thank you Misty," She smiled at the younger girl. "Now hurry. You go your way I'll go mine."

May, not looking behind her, raced off to find Drew. He had to stop making these black roses. Who knew what horror they could cause? Misty began to race off her way, and neither of them even noticed what lay on the ground. The rose. It began to assemble from the ashes, reforming, turning back into the green stemmed black petal monstrosity it was born to be. Then it began to grow, roots digging into the sand and a vine curling along the beach, more black flowers sprouting along it.

**

* * *

**

"Danny!" Damian gasped. "Danny! Look at it! Those black roses! Oh! You need to cut him off from power right now. Those things are evil flowers! He's not even doing it on purpose! It's all an accident! He's just feeling so strong the Unown can't help but grant his wishes! You need to order them not to grant him wishes anymore! All those poor people! Those roses are just going to play with their heads and feelings. It's horrible!"

Danny smirked from her seat, both of them starring into the mirror that had become their portal into the downstairs dungeon. "Nah, I think I'll let it go. That ought to keep them distracted for a bit. All the more time for us to think about what's really important. Taking over the world."

**

* * *

**

May raced through the woods, top speed. She had to find Drew. She had to! Not just for all the reasons she thought of before, but because of those flowers. If one rose could do so much harm imagine what a colony could do! The entire place could be a cemetery of heartache. Maybe she'd have to start listening to sad backup songs instead of the upbeat rap and pop music she had started getting used too.

There he was. Well, where she presumed he was. She could only glimpse his purple jacket in the midst of the plants. The vines crawled and knotted over one another, thick and strong. They were at least the size of her wrist, and the thorns! The thorns on the plant were huge. Each thorn was at least as long as her hand, serrated and sharp like the knife she'[d eaten her steak with not too long ago. Each flower was smaller than usual, the biggest was the size of a buttercup, much unlike the rose Misty had found on the floor. Some of the flowers even went as far as to die and flutter to the ground in despair.

May touched a hand to the thick vines. They ran under her skin, sliding fast but freezing cold. She pulled her hand back. "Drew…Drew! I have to talk to you!" There was no response from the forest of vines. "Drew! It's me! May!"

"No shit," Drew muttering voice crawled through.

"Drew," She began. She didn't know where to go from there, and he wasn't arguing anything she could work off of. "Drew, I'm sorry. I didn't…I didn't know what to say. I was confused. It happened so fast! So much has changed since we first got here. We started as rivals, moved to…I think crushes, and then down to friends. No, not down to. We moved up to being friends. We knew each other and we were friends."

"So my personality disgusted you?" Drew shot back. "That makes me feel loads better."

"That's not what I meant!"

"Well that's what it sounded like," He said. His voice was as calm and even as ever. It was so infuriating. She wanted to kill him! Why did he have to be so angry all the time? She couldn't even see him. "May, you don't get it."

"Then how about you explain it to me? At least let me see you for Mew's sake."

"May…I can't."

"Yes you can!" May said desperately. "Drew, we've got to talk about this. Would you quit acting like such a victim? Don't be such a…such a…" she trailed off with a groan. "You know what, you're being a _girl._ Alright? I can't think of any other way to put it. You're not just being a girl, you're being a girly girl. Would you quit moping? All this because a girl doesn't like you? So what? You were rejected, Drew! It happens to everyone! Is this the first time someone's told you no?"

"No. I've been rejected more times then you think. It's surprising, but a lot of girls actually don't like me once they get to know me. Hence, too cool too care. No one rejects the mysterious, witty, handsome kid. Plenty of people reject the jerk that's underneath the pleasing outer shell."

"You're not a jerk."

"Yes, I am. I know I'm a jerk May. You don't have to feel bad about telling me so," Drew scoffed. "I know I'm not exactly the sweetest guy you've ever met. You said it yourself back there. You don't like me, nobody likes me. I don't want you to lie about it. It hurts a lot more when you know that someone's just trying to save your feelings from being hurt instead of standing up to you and telling the truth. Maybe I'll find someone who doesn't mind me being a jerk. It's not you. I'm okay with that. I can move on. You don't have to see me anymore." The vines had stopped growing, merely sat quietly amongst the trees, black roses hanging.

"Drew, why wouldn't I want to see you anymore?" May whispered. She narrowed her eyes. "In fact, I want to see you right now!" She dropped the ground and found a small hole big enough to look through. He saw her, hands dotted with red marks where his nails had dug into his flesh. "Call off the vines, so I can talk to you. I need to have a word with you right now. We're going to be calm and responsible about this, alright?"

"What if I don't want to be calm and responsible?" Drew snapped.

"Then I'm pulling out my pokémon, burning down the forest, and killing you without a second thought."

"Angry, aren't we?"

"I'm a little stressed right now. Could we cooperate before I go mental?" She flashed him a smile. Drew shuddered. She must've been mad at him. Drew looked away nervously. "Drew, why aren't you calling off the vines. Now isn't a good time to make me mad!"

"I don't know how I did it."

"What?" May said in a deadpan voice.

"I don't know how I did it!" Drew snapped. "I don't have a clue, okay? Somehow, someway I made these things and I don't know how! I don't have any control over them. I don't want them here. I've seen what it does. I mean, Misty's face when the rose cut her…" Drew paled. "I didn't know what to do. It was freaking me out. It started out as petals then these things started growing. They were just spreading everywhere."

"Drew, it's all in what you feel," May explained. "If you want to talk to me, you have to want me to be able to get to you. You have to want to talk. I can't make you do that. You can either want to or you can go on with your life and try to pretend it never happened."

"I want to talk," Drew whispered, closing his eyes. "But I don't. I'm torn. Guys have feelings too, you know."

"Yeah, I know," May said, feeling cross. "But the thing is you don't like to talk about them. If you had freaking told me when I was your freaking fangirl we wouldn't be in this dang mess and we might even be making out right now! I'm tired, hot, wet, nauseous, hungry, and a whole bunch of other things I don't even know how to describe right now. For all I know, Ash and Misty have been eaten by heartbreaking vines. That does not spell a good time for me."

"Misty can't be dead. We wouldn't have this place anymore," Drew muttered. He couldn't help but wish they were eye to eye. He could look down on her then. It would give him a confidence booster. The vines slid open, and May stepped inside.

"Thank you," May sighed, brushing herself off.

"So, how do you feel about me?" Drew looked at her, a bit of hope in his eyes. His face stayed blank, emotionless. He was braced for heartbreak.

"To be honest, I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Drew asked. "You've either got a crush on me or you don't. You've got the symptoms or you don't. Does your heart leap every time I walk by? Do your palms get sweaty? Do you think about me all the time? Do you have inappropriate dreams about me?" He tried to joke at the end.

"No," May laughed bitterly. "I don't." His face fell. "But I do feel lighter when you walk in the door. It's like everything's just vanished, all my troubles, all my pain just go away. My hands don't sweat, but they're itching to be warm. I want to put my hand in yours. I don't think about you all the time, but when I do, it's like you're right beside me, hugging me or something. I do dream about you. They're not sex dreams though, just date dreams. Friendship dreams, even. It's just you and me talking."

"You're a teenager," Drew narrowed his eyes. "Your hormones should be out of control."

"Maybe it's because I've been living off hormones for so long that my body needed a rest in producing them. Maybe I passed the point of lust for a while. I mean, I think what it is…" she paused and touched a hand to her face. "I think I'm just turned off. I'm just, well, I'm not anywhere near in the mood. But that doesn't make any sense. See, Drew, here's the thing. I've seen a lot of guys here. I mean, _a lot_ of guys. They were hot guys too. I knew they were hot, it registered."

"This is making me feel loads better, thanks," Drew rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, I think you may be getting yourself a girlfriend here," May snapped. "Thing is, I just haven't been, well, turned on in the least. I haven't thought of kissing any of them, starting a relationship, or anything, er, inappropriate," she flushed, "for a while. In fact, not since…" Light flashed in her eyes.

"Not since when?" Drew asked, getting tired of her pause.

"Not since I said I couldn't allow myself to have a relationship with you," she grinned at her idea. "Not since I wanted, wanted with every ounce of my being to shove my hormones out of the way, be friends with you, and focus on taking care of Ash and Misty!"

"I don't think I see where this is going," Drew said shiftily.

May grinned and marched right up to him, sending his nerves on end. Her hands went to his neck and head, her face drew close, her lips moved in a beautiful sentence. "I think I'm ready to let me love you now."

_And the roses began to turn red…_

**

* * *

**

Holy moly, I did not see that plot twist coming. I didn't not even know that was how it was going to happen. I'm going to beat the hell out of that plot. Maybe I can get it to stay organized and with my original idea.  
–scene change to plot hiding in a plot hole- Plot: Ha! She'll never find me here!  
I apologize again for the late update and that little joke up above and for the long A/N's. Well, review if you want. If you don't, I'll just send the black roses and Sexual Harassment Eevee after you. No biggie. And, just to let you know…  
I'M FOURTEEN AND I NEED BIFOCALS! NO JOKE! I WAS JUST PRESCRIBED FREAKING BIFOCALS! MY _GRANDPARENTS _DON'T NEED BIFOCALS! I don't really care about the 'fashion don't' part. I feel really bad about my eyes now. I'm going to be legally blind in a year, I'm sure of it even though the doctor didn't say so, I'm sure of it. I'll never be able to write again. I'll cry if that happens.

R and R, you'll be a star!


	16. Chapter 16

You all really do rock! Thanks for the reviews!  
If anyone has seen Avenue Q…oh my goodness golly goshes! Was that not the best show ever? I loved it! It was so wrong, yet so right!  
Hey, if anyone wants to know why Ash has his Kanto pokémon…it's because Kanto rocks, and all the other regions suck ass. Ash's original pokémon were cool. They were loyal and had personalities other than Sir. Sobs A Lot Torkal and Mr. Spoon Up Ass Treeko. Now they're stupid pansies. Personal opinion, oh well.  
…I just realized I said I was 14 last chapter. I've been fifteen for over a month now…-smacks forhead- I'm a retard.

In this chapter…dun, dun, dun, DRAMA!

* * *

**Chapter 16**

The hormones thrust through her at a breakneck pace, all systems go. She went weak at the knees at the surprise of it. She was lucky Drew was there to catch her and hold her up while she shook. She pulled back slowly and buried her face in his shoulder, taking deep breaths in and out. "Holy…wow. Drew, that was," she laughed in a lovesick way, "oh, wow. I can't believe I didn't want to do that before."

"You were under a spell."

"Thank Mew you broke it," She gasped dizzily, hands digging into her shirt. "You're so…" She shivered again.

"I didn't break it May, you did," he said fondly. He tilted her chin up. "You fought it and won. I think you chose the right path, but, I may have my own reasons for that. Maybe it's from all this kissing we've been doing." He gave a suggestive grin and slid a hand down to her waist. "Maybe if we try again, I'll be able to think a little clearer. I think hormones come with a shot of adrenaline, and that always helps your brain out. Isn't that right?"

"Mmm, why Mr. Williams, I do believe you're trying to seduce me."

"Only if it's working," He chuckled. Drew brought her face as close as he could without touching and smoothed his lips over every part of her face without touching her lips, torturing her. She twisted his hands into his shirt and gave a dreamy sigh. "Is it working?"

"Do you think it's working?" She giggled.

"It appears to be," He grinned. "I think there's only one way to test it."

"Oh no," she smirked. "You're not going to kiss me again, are you?" She gave her best attempt at a seductive smile, which wasn't half bad for her first try. "I think I'd better administer the test. You've already took a stab at it, why can't I?" She forced her lips onto his and began the slow, longing kisses she now desperately needed. How long had this been going on now? She didn't know, but she did know it was wonderful. She loved every second of it. In fact, she could die happy.

He pulled back, giving them both a chance to take deep breaths. "You know, I can't help but think we're forgetting something. I mean, this is great, I want to stay here forever, but…this isn't our own personal paradise, right? Wasn't there…wasn't there other people here not too long ago? They couldn't have vanished already. Someone would've come back to get us. Someone we know. Who do you know?"

"I know you," She grinned. "Is there anyone else I need?"

"Do you want to take the chance that you don't?" He asked.

"I don't want to think, Drew," She said firmly. "I've got all my emotions back in the order I like them. Now you're…now you're trying to stop what you've wanted all along? What next? You're going to take advantage of me, have a one night stand, then you'll leave me for some new girl you care about? That's just terrific. I always knew you were that kind of guy. I don't even know why I bother with you! I'm so, so stupid!"

"May, listen to yourself!" He said, giving her one quick shake.

She blinked. "Mew, Drew, what's wrong with me? You think I'm under some new sort of spell? Oh my…Max! I forgot all about him! And everyone else! We're supposed to get back there and try and figure out a new way out of here! We're supposed to make sure Unown A doesn't screw with Ash and Misty so they can get their memories back and we'll be safe! Oh Mew! What the heck was I thinking? I think Unown A got a hold on me!"

Drew laughed, "No. You've just got your hormones back and you're your usual dramatic self. You'll get used to the hormones quick enough, I promise. Every other teen in the world has. Now, come on," He picked her up bridal style. "Let's get back there."

"You know you can't do this for more than five steps, right?"

"I resent that," Drew said, taking a step forward and almost buckling under the newfound weight. "I think I can manage six."

**

* * *

**

Misty stumbled through the woods, starting to feel tired. She rubbed at her hand, it was starting to throb, and her heart was still heavy. Her heart was still aching. It wasn't fair, nobody had broken her heart but she got all the pain. She hadn't done a single thing wrong! She hadn't screwed up a relationship! All in all, she didn't even want a boyfriend left. Romance was well and fine, but still! She was twelve! She had her life ahead of her! She could deal with romantic daydreams, looking at a cute guy, or even go as far as flirting. It was just that she'd rather not get tied down to a relationship and one guy when she had plenty of time to experiment new personalities of guys and find out exactly what kind she liked. She didn't need hopeless adoration right now. She needed teen crushes that would teach her everything she needed to know about men. This was going to be difficult, considering she was slowly but surely falling in love with Ash. She didn't want to be in love with him, but it was starting to get hard to ignore the all too romantic clichéd feelings that pounded through her at the very thought of his smile.

"Ugh, what was in that flower?" She muttered to herself, rubbing at the spot. It was almost like a weedle sting now, a bit itchy and very painful. She nibbled at her lip and held her hand up to her face. There were no viable signs of irritation, just scars. They were gray, light, it looked like they had been there forever. She swallowed. There were _scars_. What if they never left? They just stayed there _forever_. She wasn't very vain, but she didn't want her body scarred. It was a reminder, a painful one, of everything that had happened so far. "Ash! Pikachu! Brock! Tracey? I'll take anyone! If anyone I know can hear me…could you respond?"

No one answered. Great, she was completely and totally alone. Fantastic, she was going to die in the woods with her itchy, scarred, ugly as hell hand. She might as well take a hatchet and chop off the thing. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but it was still annoying. She must've still been feeling the symptoms of heartbreak. " '_We all live in a pokémon world. I wanna be the greatest master of them all._' " Misty whispered a bit nervously. How she hated being alone. Why couldn't someone have been there with her? Why did they all have to be stupid, stupid people who drank too much and left a poor twelve year old all alone? "Hello! Anyone out there?"

"Pikachupi?" Misty heard behind her. She spun around, smiling. (Misty! It's you! Hey, whatchya doin'? Could you pet me on that special spot? Ash is reading your diary right now and I could really use some petting right about now. Nobody pays attention to me. Brock's drunk, Ash is busy, I can't find anyone else, I think they're drunk too or something. You don't understand me, do you?) Misty swept the little creature up in her arms and began to pet her. (If you can understand me, say "Pickle juice". Come on, just say "Pickle juice". It's not a hard word. Hey, how about "apple"? That should be a word you know! Say "apple".) Misty did not respond, but continued to pet. (Dammit.)

"Hey, Pikachu, you know where Ash is?"

(He's not important. Keep petting me. Oh, now look. You stopped petting me. That's not right. Come on, pet the cute little Pikachu. You know you love me.) She nuzzled into Misty's chest, inspiring her to pet again. (There we go. Now, you remember your directions, don't you? Forward. _Forward _Misty. You know what that one is? Just walk in a f—king straight line you idiot! I liked it better when you could f—king understand me. Retard.)

"I know what you're saying," Misty said, catching Pikachu off guard.

(Oh shit.)

"Well, that's one way to put it," Misty giggled. She strode forward and continued to stroke in between Pikachu's ears. "It's okay, Pikachu. I'd probably be swearing up a storm too if I was as stressed as you. You can't find anyone to play with you either, huh? You're not used to not having anyone to battle for so long, huh? Is that a good or bad feeling, like a break or…?" She trailed off and shrugged. "Should I just keep taking this trail, or did he wander off it in search from some stupid shortcut again?"

(Nope, just follow the trail and you'll meet up with your lover boy,) Pikachu giggled.

"Pikachu!" Misty yelped. "That not funny!"

(But it's true! How far into your diary will Ash have to get before he finds out how much you like him?) Pikachu teased. Misty flushed and shook her head. (Wait…you haven't wrote it yet? You've been traveling with him for near two years and had a crush on him for almost all that time and you never _once _wrote it in your diary?) Misty shook her head no again. (What do you write in your diary, anyway? Your life revolves around Ash.)

"My life doesn't revolve around Ash!" Misty argued.

(Yes it does.)  
"No it doesn't."  
(Does too.)  
"Does not!"  
(Does too!)  
"Does not!"  
(Oh, it totally does!)  
"No it doesn't!"  
(Oh yeah? Then why are you looking for him instead of Brock or Tracey, huh?) Pikachu shot back. Misty didn't answer. (Ha ha! I win!)

"Be careful, Pikachu. You're starting to turn into your trainer. I wouldn't be surprised if people accidentally started calling you li'l Ash," Misty said airily. "But you wouldn't be worried about that, right? Ash is a great trainer and so intelligent and someone you'd love to be compared to." Pikachu sparked dangerously in her arms. "If you zap me on purpose, I'll hurl you into a tree. Ash isn't here, so I can threaten you all I want."

(That's right, I forgot about that. Now, lemme get a good look at you!) Pikachu leaped gracefully out of her arms and turned to face her, easily keeping pace, even walking backwards. (You're stumbling, are you sick?)

"Not exactly," Misty said uncertainly. "It's just…this rose scratched me. I was barely touching it and it just completely slashed through my hand. It aches and itches. I've tried scratching at it but nothing seems to work." Her attention back on her wound, the itching was seeming to intensify. It was driving her ma.d She dug her nails into her skin and scratched furiously. It was horrible. Her entire hand was starting to turn red. She raised her hand to her mouth and tried to bite at it.

(Misty, don't do that! You're going to open up the wound.)

"Nuh-uh, it's all scarred now. There's no scabs! And besides, it _itches_." She sat down, her legs starting to ache. She was tired, exhausted, and she was just done. She wanted to lie down, go to sleep, and pretend the world didn't exist. Her hand went back up to her mouth and she bit down again, trying to soothe the itch. It wasn't helping much. She slammed her hand to the ground and rubbed her palm in the grass with a frustrated growl.

(Misty, you're going to hurt yourself!) Pikachu scolded.

"I don't care!" She hissed, rubbing more frantically. The ache of skin peeling from her, unearthing the sensitive flesh underneath finally broke through. She yelped and pulled her hand back suddenly, beginning to blow on it. The pain was like rug burn, and it wasn't very surprising to Pikachu. After all that scratching, it had to happen. "And now it stings!" She cried desperately. Pikachu decided against a hearty 'I told you so'. Misty looked like she was in pain. In fact, there were tears in the young girl's eyes. That alone let Pikachu know there was something else wrong with her. She spit on her hand and rubbed it in with her fingers as best she could, whimpering. "I just want to kill myself! It hurts so bad! Everything hurts!" She clutched her hand to her chest, the two places that hurt most trying to comfort each other in her grasp. She was still gasping in and out with frantic breaths. Her throat was locking down with tears, eyes burning. She was trying to stop her frame from shaking, which distracted her from trying to keep quiet. A sob managed to escape her lungs.

But Pikachu wasn't looking at her, she was looking behind her. Pikachu's eyes were wide, frightened, and she was quite sure she was seeing something that couldn't be damaged by a single thunderbolt attack. Vines could be destroyed by a thunderbolt, sure, no problem. She could do that just fine. However, when it came to hundreds of veins, growing, writhing, thorns looking ready to rip through skin, maybe even muscle to scratch at the bone. The worst part? The vines were creeping closer, slow and deadly. There was Misty, only a few feet away from the treacherous plant, crumpled on the ground and not moving any time soon.

(Misty, get up. Get up, right now!) She ordered.

"I can't," She said, barely containing her sobs. She fell to her side and curled up in a ball, clenching her teeth together. "I can't, I can't, I can't. Just leave me here. I'll die here. I don't care anymore. It just keep getting worse." She barely contained a scream when a thin vine, only as wide as a pencil, wrapped around her ankle and sunk tens of thorns down, releasing their venom. "It hurts! Make it stop!"

(F—k!) Pikachu shrieked, darting forward. She gripped the vine in her teeth and ripped, snapping the vine without injury to herself. She saw small black roots at the end of the plant, beginning to shrivel up and die. (Misty, you get up! You get up right now! I know it hurts, but you've got to move! Misty, the f—king plant is going to _kill you_. Do you want to die? Huh? You want to be killed?) Misty shook her head no, eyes still shut but tears beginning to fall. (Don't just sit there! You a baby? You a wimp? Are you just going to sit there and cry? Don't be a loser! Get up, you crybaby! Don't let that stupid thing control you! You're stronger than that! Get up off your ass and run like hell's chasing you, because it f—king is!)

"You go, I'm coming," Misty said pathetically, rolling a bit on the ground.. "One second, I'll get up. I swear." The electric mouse leaped the last inch forward and clamped her teeth on Misty's wrist. Misty cried out, but this was just the jolt she needed. She shook the sweat plastered bangs out of her face and staggered to her feet. "Get on my shoulder, I'm faster." Misty said. Pikachu leaped up as quick as she could, and Misty took off running.

(Misty, your ankle is bleeding!) Pikachu cried, taking time to survey the damage done to both of them. Pikachu decided that she was fine, no visible damage done. Her tongue darted around her lips, but tasted no blood, hers or Misty's, which was good. She hadn't needed to bit through the skin to wake her up. Misty, however, was another story. Her sock, ripped in two sections, was beginning to be soaked in blood and a black syrupy substance Pikachu was sure came from the plant. Not only that, but the scars on her hand had opened again. Her clenched fist was leaking blood onto the ground.

"I'll fix it when we stop," Misty gasped. "We just need to get to Ash. We'll be safe. He's got Charizard with him, or some fire type, doesn't he?"

(I think he's carrying Charizard with him, but Misty!) Pikachu said frantically. (We might not make it all the way there! You've got to try something else! Get up a tree, turn off course, do something! You can't run like this forever!)

"No, that won't work. I think it knows who I am. It's probably following it's kill. It's practically a predator! It's gonna kill both of us, we gotta run. That's like saying a Charizard won't come after you if you turn left! And…and even if it can't think! It's like a flood! It's just filling the whole place up! Turning somewhere won't work!" She looked behind her than looked back forward with a groan. "Ugh! I've heard of invasive species, but this is ridiculous!" She gave a light laugh. "My leg's throbbing, it's crawling up. Look at it, tell me if there's anything wrong, and tell the truth or I'll look for myself. That won't be good. I'll probably trip."

(Alright! Alright!) Pikachu grumbled, twisting to look down. What she saw almost made her fall off the running girl. Her leg was slowly being covered in black, looking more like it was a part of the skin then a substance covering it. The blood was gone, the blackness having seeped into it and halting the flow. That was partially a good thing. At least Misty wouldn't faint from blood loss. (Misty…you don't wanna know what you've got going on down there. It's freaky as hell.)

"I can handle it," Misty gasped, running was starting to take its toll.

(Er…I don't think that's a good idea.)

"If you don't tell me I'm looking for myself," Misty shrugged, forgetting that Pikachu was on her shoulder. She caught the little pokémon in her arms when she toppled off. "Heh, sorry. So, tell me, what's going on with my leg? I know that, whatever it is, it's not good."

(Well, it's kinda good,) Pikachu giggled nervously. (The plant put this plant stuff on you. It was all black and it moved like maple syrup except it's currently moving up your leg and devouring you slowly. The good news is that it stopped the bleeding for now! You're not going to die of blood loss. Well, unless your hand keeps bleeding and you die from that. But, I mean, the odds of that happening are pretty low!)

"Oh, shit," Misty muttered. "Pardon my French."

(Bad language pardoned,) Pikachu smiled. The two were far ahead of the vines, but not for long. They skidded into the clearing, where Ash lay on a log reading her diary. (Ash, get your ass up and help us out!) Ash's head popped up from the book and looked at Misty, eyes widening and mouth forming soundless words. He pointed to Misty's leg, his mouth still opening and closing like a magikarp on land. (Get. Out. Charizard.)

"Wha?"

"Get out Charizard!" Misty repeated. She walked over to Ash, pulled him to his feet, and slapped him hard across the face. He finally found his voice and shouted a few choice angry words at the girl who'd just hit him. "Wake up, Ash! I'm fine! Get out Charizard because there's a huge plant about to come out of the woods and eat us both! Do you want that? Hurry freaking up and save us! I'm not in the mood to be fertilizer."

"What are you talking about? You're both completely-what's that thing?!" Ash shouted, pointing behind her.

"That would be the freaking flesh eating plant that is slowly eating my leg!" Misty pointed down. She plopped to the ground, but not before snatching Chrizard's ball at his belt. She tossed it out, Charizard erupting proudly with a blaze from his mouth. He stomped triumphantly and looked back at Ash.

(Oh, f—k no! I've got the little ba—ard again? Where'd he come from? Did I get put through a time vortex or some shit? Damn, man. F—k no,) Charizard muttered. (A/N: Apparently Charizard is a crack addict. I apologize. This is what came out. I think it kind of fits him, don't you think? I mean, he's got the lighter built in, he was always half asleep…) He slowly fell onto his back and yawned, looking up to the sky. (Wake me up when the f—king battle's over.)

"Charizard!" Ash shouted weakly. "We need your help! I'm serious! I…I won't let you back into your pokéball if you don't help us! You'll get killed by plants too! Help us out here, please!" So, twelve year old Ash had no idea how to control Charizard yet. Typical. Whenever they needed help for something, Ash's first plan would fail. But still, it wasn't Ash's plan. It was Misty's. Misty's plans rarely failed, unless they were in the business in love.

Charizard turned to the plant and began building the flames up with in him. They would be controlled, thin, but intense. He couldn't catch the entire forest on fire, everyone would end up dead. Now, this did seem like a good proposition, but experience had told him otherwise. He needed Ash, unfortunately. The boy's existence was required for him to be all that he could be. Okay, that was a lie. Ash's existence was necessary so he could eat and still sleep all day. He began to send the stream forward, grinning when the plant crumpled and writhed away from him. It was dying, more vines were coming but he could flame them all. He'd destroy them.

But, as any gardener knows, the weeds won't stop growing unless you take out the roots…

Misty, meanwhile, was clawing at the stuff on her leg. She tossed her head back and moaned. She couldn't do it. She had one hand to work with, the other one bleeding still, and every time she attempted to use her other hand, she would be reminded of the ache in her chest, ankle and hand. She'd let go, because she just couldn't handle it. It made her want to scream. "Please, make it stop. Someone just kill me right now. Stab me in the chest with a switchblade, chop my head off, strangle me. Please, just do anything to make this pain stop. Her other foot attempted to scratch off the black goop, but only slid along.

"Misty?" Ash asked, sitting next to her. "You can't get it off?"

"I can't touch it," She gasped, feeling tears on her face. She wiped at her eyes and gave a weak sob. "It won't get off. I'm going to die thanks to those stupid plants. I'll never look at roses the same way again."

"Lay down, gimme your leg," Ash instructed.  
"Why?"  
"I'm going to take it off!"  
"No you're not. It'll hurt," she sniffled.  
"Yes I am."  
"You're not!"

"I am!" He snapped. Ash's hands pushed her down by the shoulders, his arms pinning her for a moment before getting off and returning to her leg. Pikachu trotted over and began to lick her palm free of blood carefully. The two of them would help her get through this, they wouldn't let her die. That's what Ash said to console her as he slid his nails under the black and pulled at it. Her back arched a bit and she shoved a hand in her mouth to muffle scream. "That hurt," He stated, half as a question, half as a comment.

"A little," She whispered. "It was more my insides than my outside. You know, feelings wise. My heart hurts." She put her fist back in her mouth and bit down, trembling. It hurt so bad. She'd rather have physical pain over this.

"Look on the bright side," Ash smiled, holding up a chunk the size of both his hands. He tossed it to the ground. "See, that wasn't so bad! We've only got a few more times to go. It can't be any worse than your sisters waxing your legs back before you left, huh? Or how about that one time…" He was attempting to distract her, so she wouldn't have a chance to protest before the second round of torture. She felt his fingers, distantly, on her leg, but was too distracted by the memory he was weaving to care. That is, until the gut wrenching pain came again as he ripped off a second chunk and threw it to the side.

"That was a horrible trick," She panted.

"I know, sorry," He grinned. "I had to do it though. We've got half off it off now. Just two more times, Misty. It's almost over. Just take deep breaths and calm down. Everything hurts more if you're braced for it. Like shots, right?"

"I can feel your hand, that's not going to work twice," Misty hissed. "Give me a chance to recover here, Ketchum. I just need a minute or two as a breather from that pain. You rip it off now and I'll kick your ass so bad it's not even funny."

"Every time Brock leaves you start swearing. Whenever someone's around, you're kind and sweet but when there's no grown ups you've got a sailor's tongue, Mist." He began to wedge his hand under the blackness. "I've got to pull it off though. It starts to spread if I don't. It's slow, but if we wait two minutes we'll be back where we started. You want to go through all that again? I don't. You'll kill me. Just two more times."

"Please don't," Misty said breathlessly. "Mew, Ash, don't!"

"Don't beg me, Misty," He whispered, licking his lips. "You don't ever beg me for anything, you got that? You don't ever do that ever again. I'm not gonna listen, and you're not supposed to beg. You're too strong for that. Forget the poison. It's not a real ache. It's a lie."

"I'm not begging you for f—king anything," Misty whispered. "It hurts so, so bad. It feels real. Don't do it, Ash. _Please. _Just one minute is all I ask."

"You're begging," He said firmly. He ripped, harshly, and Misty's breath rolled out in a way that symbolized tears. Her wound was exposed now, stinging as the warm air. Ash ripped off a part of his black shirt, thick enough to be tied around her ankle. "One part left, Misty. You're almost done. It's on the other half of the wound. I think it's where the stuff started growing. It's, well, more, rubbery than the other stuff. It's thicker."

"Rip that bastard off," Misty snarled, mining her useful hand into the dirt.

"Attagirl," Ash beamed. He slowly worked a finger under the rubber and gripped it tightly. "3, 2," He ripped it as hard as he could, and she actually screamed this time. He'd never heard her scream in pain before. His heart practically stopped beating in his chest at the sound. He wanted to, and he couldn't believe he actually felt this urge, to _hug _her. He wanted to _hug _Misty. First of all, he would never want to touch a girl, especially one like Misty. Second, he didn't want to get the crap beaten out of him after she finally wormed out of his grasp. "Just rip it off fast, like a Band-Aid. Is that any better?"

"What the hell was with that one?"

"I don't know," He murmured. He held up the blackness close to his face. Hundreds of little spikes looked up at him, sharp and dripping with Misty's blood. He tossed it to the side, this time with more vigor. It hit the ground and began to dissolve instantaneously. "Ugh, gross. Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" He wrapped the fabric around the thin line around her ankle and tied it tight., then started ripping off another piece to bandage her hand.

"Mew, Ash, just screw it already," Misty shook her head as he began to wrap the fabric around and around, easily tying it off at the end. He hesitated for a second, looking at the extra at the end, then knotted it again. "We're already dead. Charizard is running out of fuel, and he can't kill anything. It just keeps coming back. I can't run for long. They were small wounds, but they were really deep, and they really bled. I mean, the blood just flowed and came and came and…" She shivered. "I'm still kinda lightheaded and breathless from all this. We're already screwed. I think this is where it ends. Sucks, don't it?" She laughed lightly.

"Misty, don't say that! We've got plenty of—" He froze when Misty leaned forward and threw her arms around him, pulling him close. She was so warm. Instead of the usual grips of death he was used to, this was gentle. Her touch was just tight enough to feel comforting. Pikachu arranged herself just beyond Misty and grinned at him wickedly. He felt his face grow hot, but couldn't bring himself to pull out of the hug.

"Thank you, Ash," she smiled. "I appreciate it."

"It looked like it hurt," He replied, angry at his voice for betraying him. It was squeaking and weak. "I had to help ya out, Mist. I mean, what kind of friend wouldn't? You were in pain and you were going to die and anyone would save you! No one's that heartless." He averted his eyes from hers, still red. He couldn't believe she'd just hugged him. He was going insane. Why'd she do that? More importantly, why'd she stop?

"I know, but it doesn't mean you don't deserve a thank you," Misty smiled. Well, it wasn't a goodbye kiss, but at least she'd be a bit tingly before the plants ate her. That was an upside.

Charizard was still sending out flames, but backing up. His flames were weaker now, he was tired. The vines continued to advance. He looked back at Ash desperately, letting out a dragon roar. Ash closed his eyes and tried to think of a way out. None of his other pokémon would work! How did you fight an enemy that couldn't be killed? (Ash, I can't finish this. We're f—king dead, man. We've got to get out of here. F—k, man, I think it's after the girl.)

"It can't be after Misty!"

(Why not?)

"No one ever goes after Misty!" Ash shouted. "They…she's not…it couldn't be going after her! Why would it…ugh! That's ridiculous! Charizard we've…you don't have any fire power left?" Charizard shook its head. "Well, then, get back in your pokéball. Pikachu, you two. Maybe you two'll be able to get out of this alive." The two refused. There was a fight, which only resulted in Charizard looping his arms under Ash's armpits and keeping him captured. "You're staying then?"

(Gee, Ash, what was your first clue? Besides, I'm claustrophobic. I'm not going in that damn ball.)

"Please, Pikachu, Charizard!" He held out the pokéballs desperately. The two shook their heads and glared at the oncoming vines, all around them now, curling closer and closer. They weren't slowing, if anything they were speeding up. Maybe if there had been some unearthly scream, some noise coming from the plant, it would've felt more avoidable than the cracking of twigs, trees, and the hiss of motion over grass. It would've felt like the thing was alive, something that could be killed, destroyed, something other than the earth coming up to obliterate them. But it wasn't. And they pressed together, as close as they could.

"Ash?"

"Yeah Misty?"

"I just thought I should let you know, before we die, togepi wasn't the one who grabbed your ankle, freaked you out, and watched you go down over that huge waterfall. It was me." Ash made a surprised noise and glanced back at her. She blushed. "Sorry, thought it was something you should know. Aren't you glad you do now? Now we're completely open and honest with each other. Best friends, right 'til the end."

"Not completely honest," Ash said, a little flushed. "It's…not important. But, Mist, you really are my best friend. Thanks for everything you've done, sticking with me, not actually throwing me into the campfire no matter how many times you threatened to. It's been a good ride, Misty. It's been fun." He grabbed her hand in his and pulled her to her feet. He stood up with her and grinned. "We'll face it together, right?"

"You're such a sap, Ash," She said, but smiled anyway. The vines were closer now, almost touching their skin. They curled closer together, all hugging, Charizard's grip was comforting. The dragon was starting to feel cold behind them, his fire was spent. "Ash, you really have been a great friend," Misty whispered. The thorns approached her skin, almost reaching her. Slowly, nothing they could do to stop it, they watched it.

Then the roses turned red. The vines thinned, the plant turned into little bushes all around, easy to get around, with flowers big enough to be cupped in both of Ash's hands and still flow over. They crumpled with relief, laughing a bit at their luck, and Charizard poked the button on his pokéball and went back inside, rolling his eyes. He really did hate people. Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder after he fell down to earth, laughing along with Misty. "Whew, that was lucky. Never thought I'd live through that one," Ash laughed. He let go of Misty's hand and removed his hat. He ran a hand through his greasy, black hair and beamed.

"Thank Mew."

"Let's go grab a rose."

"Are you retarded?"

"A little, why?" He said with a smartass tone. She smacked his shoulder and growled. "Oh, come on, Mist! What's the harm in just touching a rose? They're pretty. We can give one to our friends and family. You can give one to Rudy," he giggled. She blushed and smacked him again, forgetting that her right hand was the injured one and falling over in surprised pain. Ash laughed. "I'm gonna go grab one. Nothing bad will happen."

"That's just a _wish _for something to happen," Misty reprimanded. She grabbed his arm as he started to get up. "Don't go, Ash. It's just wishing for something bad. Those plants are weird. If the black ones did all that…red's the color of blood! It's dangerous, Ash. It's a horrible idea. We need to get away from those flowers and go back to the others and sleep or something. We shouldn't do this. Stay away from those flowers."

"I'm not staying away from the flowers, Mist. Besides, red's the color of _love,_" He taunted, tugging free of her grasp. She leaped forward and wrapped her arms around his ankles, making him fall face first into the earth. "Misty, get off of me!"

"No, Ash!" Misty shouted. "You never listen to me, but you have to this time! I've got a bad feeling about these flowers! Don't you touch them! This is just like when you wanted to take that road to Sabrina's gym and I told you not to but you did anyway and I got turned into a doll and so did Brock and you got your pants pulled down and did an underwear dance and you beat Sabrina in the end but I still turned into a freaking doll and it was horrible and we just can't do this and please don't do it Ash! You're gonna screw everything up just like you always do! You quit!"

"C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"Yes it can."  
"No it can't."  
"Can too."  
"Can not."  
"Can too!"  
"Can not!"  
"Can too!"  
"Get off!"

"Ash!" She cried as he managed to escape from her vice grip. "Ash Ketchum! Ooh! You're such a jerk! You're such a retard! I hate you! Do you understand me? I hate you! Don't touch those flowers! I'll tell your mom! She'll never let you leave the house ever again! It'll be hilarious! I'll laugh at you! You'll be stuck in your house and we'll be playing games outside and you'll never be able to see any pokémon ever again."

"Sounds like fun."

"Mew dammit, Ash!" Misty shouted, slamming her hands into the dirt.

Ash rolled his eyes and walked up to a flower calmly. Honestly, what was the worst that could happen? He reached through the rose bush, careful of the tiny thorns, and plucked out a single red rose. He grinned, turning it in his hand. It was shining with dew, even though it hadn't rained. He guessed it was, well, romantic. It _was _awfully pretty, and he wasn't even the flower type! His mom would love it, any girl he ever met would love it. He ought to save them and give them away for birthdays. That would save him a lot of holiday shopping. He bet Misty would especially love one of these. Maybe she'd even give him another hug as a thank you. Maybe she'd even give him a kiss on the cheek, or even…what was he thinking?! He would never want Misty to ever touch him again! That was gross! He couldn't believe he would think that…or think about how much he wanted to smell the flower.

It was the prettiest thing he'd ever seen. He couldn't believe he'd ever thought anything bad of it! It wasn't for girls, it wasn't stupid! This flower was the greatest thing on earth. He'd give Team Rocket his Pikachu just to hold this flower in his hands, wouldn't he? Ugh, no. He didn't want to, but he _did. _Some force that wasn't him was _making _him want to love this flower. It was making him slowly lift it to his face a breathe it in. He couldn't resist, he did, and it was wonderful. It smelled like…like something familiar. It was human, mixed with the taste of chocolate and two cent soap and shampoo. It made him warm and tingly all over.

And suddenly, there was something he wanted more than anything else in the world…Misty!

He couldn't believe it himself! He was…he was falling in love with _Misty _of all people! The stupid tomboy who traveled around with him on his journey. But…but she was always there for him, and so wonderful. In fact, everything about her was better than he could ever dream of. A more perfect girl could not be thought of. He had to have her. She had to be his girlfriend! They had to be together forever and be the best couple ever!

But how, how could he win her over?

"Ash…Ash, are you okay?" Misty asked uncertainly, cautiously touching his shoulder. "You've been smelling that flower for forever now, Ash. It can't smell that good." There was a laugh, but it was weak, frightened.

Ash looked over his shoulder at her, with a bit of a hazy smile tugging at his lip, "Y'know, Mist, I never noticed how pretty you were."

"Oh shit."


	17. Chapter 17

-Sniffle- The roses are all gone after this chapter. I'ma gonna miss 'em!  
Wow…up to one twenty. Thanks guys. Y'all rock out loud! You rock so hard you melt face!  
…Don't look at me like that. I'm special. Don't make fun of retarded kids.  
By the way, Cosmotastic, like, died or something. I dunno. She's not reviewing. I don't know if she's reading. Maybe I offended her? –shrugs- I don't think she'll be back. I remember someone else wanted to be in the story…if they still do, no problem. Drop a review and tell me your "name" age, brief description of looks/personality.

* * *

**Chapter 17**

"_Oh shit."_

It was all she could think of to say. There was no better exclamation, no other longwinded phrase she could utter. There wasn't anything she could say or do at this point to stop him, at least, not any way that she knew of. The way he was looking at her…she'd never seen anything like it. He wasn't…Ash, per se, but he didn't appear to be someone else. His eyes were half glazed over, but no more than as if he had gone into a flashback. He looked like at any moment, she could reach out and poke him awake. Still, when she gave him a rough pinch in the arm, he did not wake up, become Ash, or throw that demon flower to the ground. Instead, he grabbed her wrist with one hand (he was surprisingly stronger than usual, though his touch was gentle. He had never been able to overpower her that easily before) and put the rose on his black shirt, where it somehow managed to stick. She hoped it could be removed. If it was always there, she was sure she would have nightmares. That is, if Ash keeping her captive wasn't a nightmare enough.

"Why'd ya pinch me?" He asked in a light voice. "That wasn't very nice of you. It kind of hurt. All I did was say you were pretty. What, did you think you were dreaming or something? You're supposed to pinch yourself, you know." He used his other arm to rub the spot where she had pinched him thoughtfully. His grip wasn't too hard on her wrist, just enough to let her know she couldn't run if she wanted to.

Misty, meanwhile, was frozen like a deer in the headlights. An enemy, she could handle. She could even handle a possessed best friend. She would scream and holler and fight her way free. But this wasn't an enemy in Ash's body, or any other type of enemy, it was Ash. As much as she hated to admit it, _her _Ash. Even though a part of her was screaming to run, to try and get away, to struggle. The part that told her she probably could get free, he didn't seem too strong. Another part rose within her, stronger than the other one, reminding her that she was with Ash. Ash would never hurt her, not intentionally. Accidentally, sure, the boy was an idiot. Accidental injuries were part of the program when you wandered around with him. However, no matter how many times he accidentally hurt her, she couldn't bring herself to feel frightened. She was calm, and she couldn't figure out why.

"Misty, won't you answer me?" He asked. Her heart leaped, the fear (and something else) finally kicking in when his hand slid down into hers and his thumb stroked it sweetly. "You're all stiff now. What happened? I didn't…Did I scare you?" He gave a sly grin.

Misty ripped her hand out of his, a blush staining her face. She turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, letting one hand sweep up to brush her bangs out of her face. "Scared? Why in the world would I ever be scared of a stupid little kid like you? You're not smart or strong or anything! I could take you in a match any day, any time. You're so cocky Ash, I don't know why you think you're so great when you're obviously not."

"Oh, I don't think I'm great, but _you _do, don't you?" He whispered hotly in her ear and set his hands on her hips.

She couldn't breathe. She had never felt this out of control before. Sure, lots of times she had felt the mild symptoms of her crush on Ash, but never had she felt like this. Yet, it all seemed so familiar, like something she'd forgotten. She wanted to lean into his touch, let her legs give out, stop trying to fight something she actually _wanted_. She was only _twelve _and yet her hormones seemed to be wide awake! It wasn't fair! This shouldn't have been happening to her. It shouldn't have all felt so good, so _right._

She ripped out of his grasp. "You…you don't touch me!" Misty stumbled away from him. For a second she had forgot about the pain in her ankle. Now it was back with full force. She couldn't put weight on it. Not only was she stuck with a lovesick Ash, now she couldn't run from him either. She couldn't even walk. "Why don't you listen to your elders, like you're supposed to? Find me someplace comfy to sit."

"I know someplace," Ash said slyly, her barking unable to move his smile. He took a few steps closer. "I've heard that my lap is pretty cozy." Her mouth dropped open. Ash wasn't supposed to be this…forward or flirtatious or anything having to do with romance. He was supposed to hate romance and now… "You could curl up there for a while if you want. I won't try anything, promise. You trust me, don't you?"

She snorted. Yeah, she trusted Ash. In the past year he'd gotten her into more accidents, awkward situations, and mayhem than she'd ever gotten in her entire life. The rule following stiff backed Misty never got in trouble (except for her mouth which opened just a little too easy). She tried to take a few steps away from him again, get away from him, but for every step back he took one forward. She probably wasn't going to escape for now.

"Well, I guess you have got a right to be pretty nervous when a guy starts, erm, flirting with you. I bet guys are always trying to kiss you, huh?" She put a hand to her face, barely believing that Ash had managed to deliberately make her blush. "Am I going too fast? Do you want to, uh, I don't know. Take it slower. We could go on a date or something. We can go anywhere you'd like. I'm used to spending a lot of money on you."

"Oh, shut up," She said snappishly.

"What, it's not a lie!" He laughed lightly. "You always make me pay for your lunches and dinner, plus all the times you made me pay for your desserts and chocolate and all that kind of stuff. To tell the truth, I don't really mind. You always looked so…so happy whenever I paid for something. You smiled. You know, you don't smile that often. You're usually smirking at something you said. You should smile more often. I like it."

"You what?" Misty blinked, then shook her head wildly. She couldn't give him an opening for a romantic speech! She wasn't interested! She had to plaster a horrified look on her face. After all, he was her best friend, but that was it. He was messy, sloppy, ugly, stupid, everything she hated in a boyfriend. That's exactly what she had to show him. Maybe if she managed to show she didn't love him, his heart would break and he'd leave her alone. "Forget it."

"You want to know if I really like your smile?"

"I don't care if you like my smile or not. Though I appreciate the compliment." She flashed him a cheesey smile before turning her attention to her stinging hand. She held it in front of her, tracing the rifts in the fabric. Ash was quiet. That was a good sign. Maybe he was heartbroken. Hmm, that made her heart twist a bit, the thought of breaking her friend's heart. It stung more than her hand. _Well, maybe not, _she thought as her finger managed to make a cut sting through Ash's shirt.

Then, her hand was covered by two of his. Her face heated and eyes shot up to his face before she could stop herself. "Misty," he chided lightly. "You told me all the time not to pick at my scabs, now you're practically doing the same thing." There was silence for a moment as his eyes searched her face. She shivered. It felt like he could see right through her. She wouldn't be surprised if he could. If nothing else, he was pretty good with people. "You also told me not to lie."

"I-"

"Why are you lying to me?" Ash asked quietly. "I mean, I know why you wouldn't try and tell me you like me if you had a crush on me. You'd be scared that I wouldn't like you back. You'd be scared that I'd hate you. But why are you lying to me? I can _see_ that you care. You're blushing, Misty. I didn't know that you liked me in _that _way, but now I can see that you do and…and I always knew that you didn't hate me. I always knew that we were friends. Friends don't lie to each other unless it's for a surprise party. I'd never lie to you and I though that you wouldn't lie to me! So stop lying and just tell me what you feel for once."

She tugged out of his grasp once more. Her eyes went down to the grass. "I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm talking about me not being the only one in love around here!" He near shouted. He softened again and looked back at her. She was watching him, even if she wouldn't admit it. He head was down, but her eyes were up and seeing parts of him through the opening of their bangs. "I'm talking about how every time you walk in the room, for some reason, my throat gets really tight…and I can't breathe no matter how hard I try."

Her breath caught. Oh, _please _no. He couldn't do this to her. He couldn't be romantic, or kind, or sweet. He couldn't share his feelings. He couldn't pull everything she loved about him out of thin air and throw it at her all at once. He couldn't look at her with so much caring and adoration that her knees shook harder with every word he spoke, with every motion he made. Every muscle was so tight it hurt. "Don't," She whispered.

"I'm talking about how my heart stops whenever I see you, whether you're in a dress or sweaty and dirty from running away from Team Rocket." All she could manage to say was "don't" under his smooth voice. All she could do was take steps back as he walked forward, not noticing the tree he was forcing her back to. "I'm talking about how I watch you swim in your bikini and almost drown because I can't stop watching you. I'm talking about the crazy…_need _I have to kiss you every time I see your smile." Her back hit the tree, and he walked up close to her. "And, Mew, Misty, I really do love your smile."

"Ash," She panted. "Stop saying all this stuff."

"Smile for me, Misty," Ash grinned. A hand went under her chin and raised it. The other hand brushed bangs away from her closed eyes, making her shiver and breathe in such short, shallow gasps she might have been hyperventilating. "Come on, look at me and smile. Unless you're scared. You're not scared of me, are you? Have I gotten that strong? You think I can overpower you that easy? Maybe, boys _are way _stronger than girls." He giggled. "You're too scared to open your eyes."

"I am not!" She gasped indignantly, her eyes snapping open. Her knees almost buckled at how close his face was, the sweet smile covering it. She felt her mouth drop open limply as she fought for air. "You…that was a horrible trap, Ash."

"What trap?" He asked sweetly.

"Oh, you _know_, Ash," She hissed. "You're doing all this on purpose. You're trying to torture me. Can't you just leave me alone?"

"Well, I couldn't just let you get away with lying," He laughed. "You wouldn't let me, so I won't let you. So…hey Misty," he paused dramatically and licked his lips. Her eyes automatically focused on the movement, and her hormones automatically focused on the second step in the mating process. First one was flirting, which Ash was obviously doing for her. The next one...she wouldn't mind doing herself. "Wanna kiss me?"

She flicked her eyes away from his lips, over to Pikachu. She was smiling cutely, her tail twitching back and forth. She obviously wasn't going to help. Ash was the one causing this whole mess. And Misty herself? Well, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop him if he went with what he was obviously intending. He was going to kiss her, and she was going to go weak at the knees, kiss him back, and who knew how far along they'd go. But, the rose! Her eyes darted down to it. It was right there. He was right in front of her. It couldn't be that easy, could it? There couldn't be that much of an anti-romantic climax?

She snatched it off, and Ash fell away from her, eyes wide with shock.

"Misty! I…I didn't mean to! It was the flower and it was…the flower was just controlling me! I couldn't help it Misty! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! You know I'd never do that to you at any other time! You know I wouldn't! I hate that romantic junk! I hate it! Really I-oh." Ash was stopped when Misty tossed the rose to the side and pulled him into a tight hug, her head practically even with his. She'd either shrunk, or he had grown in the past year.

"Thank goodness. You're back. Oh, Mew, thank goodness you're you again! I don't know what would've happened if…" She gasped and pulled back, face a bright red. Her hands held each behind her back as she gazed at him. "Sorry. I was just…hey, aren't we supposed to be back with the others? We should get back to the others. We want to get back to our usual selves, don't we? I mean, can't wait to grow up, huh?" She paused. "Are you mad I hugged you?"

"Am I mad you…what? Why would I be mad? I figured you'd be mad after everything I said to you. You're waiting for your dream guy to tell you how much he loves you, and I kinda took all the romance away, didn't I? I'm sorry 'bout that. At least I didn't steal your first kiss. That's something you never shut up about, huh?" He teased, flashing her a smile. So she wasn't about to slaughter him. That was a good thing.

She said something with a smile, and began to walk away. All he could do was numbly follow behind her. He guessed the effect of the rose was still lingering a bit, because he'd never felt this stupid and lovesick like Brock just because some girl smiled at him. He couldn't be feeling this way because it was Misty either. Nope. He hated Misty. She was the weird tomboy best friend who stalked him. Yup. He didn't like her one bit. It was just that stupid rose.

**

* * *

**

"Wow, y'are a desperate little thing, ain'tchya?" Natty giggled when Gary attempted to use a line on her. She held a screaming Brian up by his feet and shook him lightly, earning herself a bit of a giggle before the scream started again. "I don't get hit on…ever. I either 'magined you up or you're blind or somethin'." Brian screamed again, and Natty lowered him to the floor before picking him back up and spinning him in circles. "Quiet down, you know you love to be manhandled!"

"Can we kill Brian with orange juice?" Sara asked sweetly.

"No kiddo. I told you, we're not allowed to kill Brian in any way. I know you're all for the apocalypse and global destruction, but just because you've been through it once doesn't mean we should go through it again. You should try and stop talking until your mind slips in right to this body and you can start morphing it." Natty grinned. She turned to Gary. "Play along. Just follow her story and keep her happy."

"How do you kill a guy with orange juice?" Gary asked.

"Drown 'im," Sara beamed. "How else?" She turned away and walked over to Evan and Lidia, sat on the floor, and looked up at them. "Do you want to hear a story? Yes? Okay. Once upon a time there was a world. The world was full of pokémon that exist only in fossils. Then, the Legendary Pokémon became angry at these pokémon and made the world very, very hot. The pokémon died instantaneously. The end."

"That was a very nice story," Lidia said awkwardly. "How old are you?"

"Oh! I'm three hundred million twenty six thousand two hundred thirty three and one half," She giggled. "And no matter how hard I try, I don't seem to be able to have children. I think it's because Mewtwo has a low count because he's a clone."

"…" Evan's mouth opened and closed once, then he shook his head. "Forget it. I'm not going to ask." He turned to Gary and Natty. "So, do you two have any ideas to get us out of here? There has to be something we can do! We can't just sit around!" He leapt to his feet. "We have to find the person who's responsible, wish up weapons or powers or something, and take them out! Then we'll get out of here and the problem will be solved!"

"Or, instead of senseless violence, we could think of an actual plan," Lidia shrugged, her comment not really sounding sarcastic. "Just a suggestion. If we can wish up whatever we want the person in charge can too. For all we know, they may be able to stop us from wishing up whatever we want. Then where would we be?" She looked up at the ceiling and sighed. "There might not even be a _person _in charge. Didn't Misty say that Danny was Unown A? That's a pokémon. I saw it on the new a few years back. Does anybody have any pokémon we could use to fight with? We'd have more of a chance in a pokémon battle."

"I can fight!" Sara said proudly. "I'll blow the world to smithereens with my magic golf club!" A golf club, an orange golf club, appeared in her hands and she swung it around her head wildly until Lidia managed to take it from her.

"We could eat," Natty proposed.

"How would that help?" Evan asked.

"I wouldn't be hungry," Natty sighed, unwrapping a chocolate bar that appeared in her hands. "Well, I dunno. It really seems like we're stuck here unless Misty can get us upstairs, which she doesn't want t'do. She wants to remember ev'r'thin' when she meets up with Danny. You know, maybe it'll be harder f'her to persuade her again. It's probably best to stop thinking about it and go with the flow." She popped in a bite of chocolate and giggled.

"What's so funny?"

"I've eaten so much chocolate I'm high off endorphins and phenlethylamine. Endorphins are the feel good chemical in your brain that releases when you eat chocolate, and phenlethylamine is one of the chemicals inside chocolate that make you fall in love. I think I'm done for the day."

"Are you sure you've got the same feelings?" Gary asked. At that moment, Drew and May burst through the door, giggling and flirting and doing other romantic activities that you would expect from a new couple. Each had an expression of bliss on their face that almost exactly matched the purple haired girl next to him. "Never mind. I see it now." He glared at the new kids. "Could you two stop acting so…happy as a couple and help us think!"

"I'm tellin' ya, we're screwed. We should just sit and eat and get fat like good little children."

"Shut up. You're high off chocolate!" Gary snapped. "I need to get out of here. I haven't had a girl to make out with in weeks! I was busy training and then I get put down here…ugh! Why was I so stupid? Why didn't I keep those cheerleaders?"

"Aw, stuff it," Natty snapped, shoving half a chocolate bar in his open mouth. "Congrats to the happy couple. Virgin mojitos for everybody!" A glass of greenish liquid appeared in her hand, filled with leaves and ice cubes, and downed the thing in gulps.

"What are we supposed to do?" May asked, resting with Drew on the floor, the two of them leaning back to back.

"That's what we're trying to figure out," Evan sighed. "My fight plan wouldn't work."

"It wasn't really a plan," Lidia said carefully. "It was more of an idea…a vague, rushed idea. If you had a plan, it might work."

"If I could get out of here I could have a plan," Evan defended.

Lidia retorted, "The plan we need is to get us out of here."

"Oh, right," Evan sighed. "Well…ugh. We can't just be stuck here. There has to be something we can do! But what? How do we find Unown A?" He thought, leaning back in his chair. Six sighs came unanimously from the room. Turns out brainstorming was harder than they thought.

**

* * *

**

"Sit still," Damian ordered. Her eyes narrowed. "Open your eyes and look up. No, not straight, up." Danny's head looked up. He sighed angrily. "A, keep your head straight at me and roll your eyes to the ceiling, okay? You always look up there when I'm annoying you and…see! You rolled your eyes again! Could you keep them up at the ceiling? It's the only way we're going to get that mascara on. Now, come on and do what I said."

"I don't see the point in me looking up. How does that even help put this gunk on?"

"Just _do _it," Damian ordered. There was one last angry sigh and an eye roll before she did what she was asked. "There, was that really so hard? You're already looking a whole lot different. We've got lipstick on, blush, eye shadow, cover up, brushed your hair, crimped it, spent two hours putting it up, and given you a skirt and blouse. No one'll recognize you now." He screwed the mascara lid back on and set it on the vanity. "Okay, get up and turn around for me."

"Why?" She snapped. "I've already learned how to walk in high heels. Misty was right. Sneakers _are _better. My feet are already starting to ache." Danny attempted to yank off her shoes, then glared when she couldn't figure out how to undo the straps. She held her foot out to Damian. "Take them off for me. You know how to do the straps. You're pretty good with this girly stuff. Hurry up and help. You don't want my feet hurt. I'll be even crankier than before."

"I'll take them off if you stand up and turn around for me. I want to make sure you look right. I know you won't look like the models in the magazines, but that's because their pictures are photoshopped. You should look pretty nice though." He leaned back in his chair, a winner's proud grin on his face, as Danny turned in a circle for him. She did look nice, unrecognizable. He supposed it was from the brown dyed hair and the brown colored contacts she'd been forced to wear. Not to mention the make-up he'd tossed on to darken her skin. "Wow, you really do look like someone else."

"Oh, joy. I'm finally pretty," Danny deadpanned. She plopped back in her seat and held out her foot. "Off."

"I don't get the pretty thing," Damian sighed, undoing the straps. "I just don't see it. Maybe it's because I'm not a human. After all, when basically everyone looks the same, it really is what's on the inside that counts, huh?"

"Yup," Danny replied. She didn't actually care. She just brought her foot up to her lap and began to rub it. "So, we'll head off downstairs, try and distract Misty, and the world domination scheme will be back on track." Danny let her head loll back in the chair with a relaxed sigh. There was nothing better than taking off cramped shoes to released cramped feet. She didn't think she'd be taking the high heels downstairs. If she did, it would only be to carry them around. She could barely stumble through carpet without Damian giving a childlike snicker, let alone mounds and mounds of sand.

"You need to get those back on." He tugged her feet back and put on the shoes. They felt even tighter than before. "Your feet will swell and you'll never get them back on. We need to have them on, at least long enough for people to see you in them. You'll look more like a princess then. By the way, how much 'likes' and…webchat? Yeah, webchat can you add into your sentences. The more the better."

"World domination, just think about world domination," Danny chanted silently.

"You won't win."

"Don't burst my bubble, Damian," She snapped. "What do you think? Big bad Mew is going to come down and set everything right? Bad guys can win sometimes too, Damian. Bad guys do win in this world. Have you ever seen TV shows? Do you know how many heroes it takes to destroy one bad guy?"

"Do you know how many people are downstairs?" Damian retorted.

She eyed him venomously, but didn't even pause before answering, "Do you know how many of them are completely hammered?"

"Do you know you're not actually evil?" He smiled, infuriatingly innocent.

"Do you know that you're a retard?" Danny growled, attempting to intimidate him. She felt Goosebumps rise on the back of her neck, attempting to raise the hair that no longer existed. Her teeth bared and the low, rhythmic growling started up again.

"Do you know how close we are?" He asked, poking her stomach playfully.

"I noticed," She said through tightly ground teeth. Oh, how she hated the little monster in front of her. She should strangle him. Slam him into the carpet. Anyway to kill the boy would be beautiful. She did need him though. Her shoes had to be taken off by someone and he might be the only one who knew how to do it. She couldn't live in these shoes forever. She took a step back and sighed. "I need you. I can't hurt you just yet."

"You want to know why?" Damian asked, grabbing her wrist and pulling her excitedly to the bed. He leapt and sat Indian style (A/N: If anyone knows any other term for this…tell me. That's what they told me in preschool and that's all I know it by now.) on the bed. "I can tell you! Oh, and you know you want to know. You want me to tell you. All you have to do is ask. I'll tell you why you're not really evil."

"I am evil."

"No you're not," He giggled. "Wanna know why? Do ya?"

"Yes, Damian," she sighed, rubbing her temples. "That's what I want to know. I want your genius opinion on why everything I know is a lie. That seems like something every person wants to know. Please, oh great Damian, tell me why I'm actually a good person at heart. Tell me why I'm not the reincarnation of evil! Tell me why I am a good person underneath this evil, wicked shell I'm hiding in. I can't wait for this."

"You really want to know?"

"Yes!" She shouted. "I want to know!"

"Because," He smiled. "You don't want to hurt people. You don't _really _want to rule the world. You just want to be noticed. It's kinda hard being around everyone who doesn't seem to care about you. I mean, your parents never noticed you, the rest of your family hated you. You felt like another random person, just there, and you thought nobody cared about you. All this is just some attention getting scheme."

"You think I'm just some spoiled brat acting out?" Danny shouted ferociously. "I am anything but! You're the only child here! Everything you do, everything you are just screams childlike! You've got no right to call that judgment! It's…it's the pot calling the kettle black. You're just…ugh! I don't even have a word for what you are! You might as well be downstairs with Ash and Misty! You ought to try and grow up!"

"Insulting others in defense of one's self," Damian murmured thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm just making a list of all the childish things you do. That's the latest one on the list. You can insult me all you want, but that doesn't defend you. There's still a big hole in your defense. Every argument I made you've made no effort to disprove."

"Oh, we're smart now, aren't we?" Danny muttered. "You know what? This is stupid. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Giving up instead and calling action stupid instead of admitting defeat," Damian giggled, continuing his list. Danny made a swipe at his head that he easily ducked. "Using violence instead of words, there's another one!" She shrieked and leaped at him, attempting a tackle. He swerved to the right and rolled off the bed, hitting the floor and leaping to his feet without any apparent injury. "Oh ho! Want to try that little move again?"

She grabbed an alarm clock from the nightstand and hurled it at him. He dropped to his hand and knees, then leaped from that spot to the bed once more. He grinned, eager for her to continue their game. "How are you so agile? Women are supposed to be more agile than men. You're leaping around here like a little aipom or something. Talented little bastard, aren't you?" She attempted to cool her temper. She couldn't make good decisions with a hot head.

"Name calling. That's the fourth childish trait you've exhibited." He giggled. She brought her right fist forward at chest level. If she was lucky, she'd be able to wind him. He managed to lie down, and her fist soared into open space and carried her forward onto his chest. He grabbed her. Danny gave a desperate shove, but found herself stuck. "Are you ready to listen, or are you going to keep embarrassing yourself?"

"I'm not embarrassing myself. Let me go."

"I'm not letting you go until you admit I'm just as grown up as you are," Damian grinned. "You can either say how wonderful I am, or you can stay pinned down, freaked out because your ex-mate isn't releasing you. Either way, I win."

"This is rape."

"We're not human, doesn't count."

"We're in human form."

"Details, details," he sighed. "Hurry up and say it. I want to get downstairs and play in the sand. I've never built a sandcastle before. I think it'll be fun. Besides, you're in a skirt and high heels. You really can't win."

"I know I…wait," She grinned wickedly. "I'm in heels." She twisted her foot and slammed it down into his leg, scratching it as hard as she could. His grip tightened around her, an automatic reaction to the pain. He was wincing. "Aw, does that hurt, Damian? How long do you think it'll take before I get you to bleed? I've got some power behind me. You'll bleed eventually. Maybe you'll cry. Either way, I win." She smirked.

"You're mean."

"Aw, I'm so glad you noticed," she purred. "I _am _evil."

"No you're not," He retorted, the smile back on his face. "Say what you want, but I know you're a good girl at heat. I was there when you were little and kind and good and rainbows and sunshine and all that nice stuff. I know who you really are. You're a kid and so am I. Mew's like…Mew's like the mom we never had. Mew will come and she'll bail us out of this whole mess, just like she always does. It's what should happen."

"It won't happen."

"It will."

"I hate Mew."

"I love Mew," he whispered. "She'll fix this, even if I can't. You're good at heart. I know you are. Deep, deep down. You're good. Everyone's good. I know they are. They've got to be. The world can't be this bad. I know it can't. I can't be this bad either." He released her. "Holding you down was mean. You don't want that, and I made you. That was selfish and horrible and I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Danny spat, getting to her feet. "What kind of baby are you? Grow up. Be strong. Maybe, if you're nice, I'll let you rule the world with me. Once you get that stupid fantasy of Mew out of your head, you'll probably be a great right hand man. You sure know how to fight. You'll be a terrific security guard. Maybe I'll even send you out to find me a mate, just for the irony. It'd almost be like a romance novel, don't you think?"

"What do you mean 'my Mew fantasy'. Mew will come and save us, like she always does."

"I thought you'd already grown out of this stupid faze. I guess you are more childish than me." She chuckled and walked out the door. Damian's mouth opened and closed for a minute, fumbling for something to say, then scrambled after her, actually tripping a few times. "Hmm, not as graceful when we're curious, are we? Come on, Damian. I'm sure you know what I mean. You're not that foolish. You've got to have grown up at least this much."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…Mew is just as fake as Santa Claus," Danny laughed. (A/N: Which is a lie, kids! We all know that both Mew and Santa are real!) She clucked her tongue when she saw his horrified face. "Aw, don't tell me you didn't know Mew was just a fairy tale, poor baby. You didn't? No? Did I just ruin your childhood fantasy? Aw, I didn't mean to do that. There's nothing I love more about you than that childlike innocence."

"Mew…Mew's real."

"No, kid. She's not," Danny said in her famous pitying voice. She was so condescending. A smile that she'd give to a whimpering child who just skinned their knee on the sidewalk graced her twisted features. "It's all a lie."

"It can't be…" he whispered. "It…It can't. I don't believe you! Mew's real! I know she is! Why would the older Unown say that then? Why would all the other generations say that? How could we have gotten into that box and given our powers if Mew wasn't real! You…you can't just go and say things like that! You don't know what you're talking about A! You have no idea! Don't act so high and mighty! You don't know!

"Oh, but I do." She grinned. "And you believe me, don't you?"

"I don't believe you," he whispered.

"You do." The upper hand was hers once again. She could practically see his soul crumbling under her accusation. She should feel proud, confident. She had broken him. She'd done what she set out to do. Oh, how she did feel that good. It was like a warm water rush through her veins. But…it was bundled with something else. There was some gross feeling she couldn't identify rolling around with the good feelings.

"I don't," He whimpered desperately, eyes on the floor.

"Look at me and say it," She demanded icily. His eyes stayed to the floor. "You can't, can you? You think it's a lie, deep down, just like I know it is. It's not real. It's just a story to scare little Unown. It's something to keep us in line. It's something to stop us from doing what we really want in life. Scaring is a universal tactic. Go back as far as you want, even human cavitations did it. The kings and queens would tell them about their gods,and how if they didn't do what they said, the gods would be angry and the gods would wreak their havoc and smite them. So, do you know what the people did?"

"No," Damian whispered. "What did they do?"

"They sacrificed people, Damian."

"They what?" He exclaimed in surprise.

"They _killed _people to please their god. Do you understand that? Hundreds and hundreds of people, maybe even thousands were slaughtered to please some creature that didn't exist, just so the king and queen could live in their power. It's all lies, Damian. You need to grow up and realize that. What you're living in…this fantasy? It had to come crashing down around you sooner or later. You knew it did. All dreams have to end sometime."

"It's not a dream," he gasped shakily, falling to his knees. His hands clenched and unclenched. This had to end. He couldn't go on like this. How did he make the bad feelings go away? If he was a good boy, wasn't he supposed to feel good? Did that mean he was doing something wrong? Danny looked like she felt good. She was smiling. She seemed happy. To his senses, she felt happy too. So did that mean Danny was right?

"Yes it is," She said. "Deep down in your heart, you know it. But there's a bright side to all of this Damian. I can see that you're hurt right now. I've been with lots of hurt people. I know what to look for. I can tell." Her thoughts rolled around inside her head, _Go in for the kill. Break him. Destroy what's left of that happy little boy inside. Bring him over to your side and don't let him go like you did with Misty. Keep him dependant on you. He's unsure about everything now._ "Do you want to know what the bright side is?" He nodded. "You'll have to speak up for me Damian. I can barely see anything you're doing with you so low on the ground."

"I want to know."

She kneeled down beside him, smiling and holding him close to comfort the young, confused boy. She rocked him for a minute, listening to shaky breaths of barely held in sobs. He was warm, her skin was almost cold to the touch. This was what she had waited for. Helpless little Damian, clinging to her for dear life. His soul battered and broken. His dreams were crushed. His heart was heavy. His eyes were full of tears, and she was his only good thing.

"Danny, you never told me."

"The good thing is that I'm here to comfort you," she whispered in his ear.

He gripped her tighter. "And you won't go away, right?"

"No," She smiled to herself. "Never.

**

* * *

**

SUPERBOWL!  
Ahem, guess what I'm watching?  
Well, I'm sick, so maybe I'll get out of school tomorrow and be able to update my one-shot collection. Exciting, no?

Whether you're happy or whether you're blue, you'll sure make me happy if you drop a review!


	18. Chapter 18

I hate my obsessive need to make this a long, twisting plot. Honestly, I shouldn't need to. I should just go straight to the end. We don't need more romance and filling in plot holes! It can be just like the show with plot holes and romance hints all over the place!  
-hands twitch over keyboard- Crap. Can't do it. I have to fill in all plot holes during the course of the story. The end isn't happening yet. Sorry. Quite a few more chapters (and an epilogue, woot woot!) to go. Don't ask me to give you a number, 'cuz I've still got no idea.

BTW: I only could use one person due to the way the story works out (and now I feel icky because so many people wanted to be in it and there was confusion and another girl wanted to be in it early but Cosmo and…very confusing junk) so I flipped a coin a bunch of times and Starrycup won. Sorry to everyone else who wanted it. I rooted for everyone equally. Congrats, Starrycup!

* * *

**Chapter 18**

He was getting sick of sand.

It didn't help that the stuff was everywhere. It crept inside his shoes and pants, through his socks and underwear, under his shirt and drying out his mouth. It itched and stung where it landed. Any breeze was pure torture, tossing up new sand to scrape at his face, burn his eyes and crunch sickeningly in his teeth. He felt nauseous and disgusting and he really hoped he wasn't about to throw up on anyone because he was almost positive throwing up while brainstorming was going to earn him a few cracks about being stupid and about how 'Ash can't think without getting sick to his stomach' from the Sensational Runt.

Ugh, Misty. His stomach twisted at the thought of her. This wasn't fair! He only half-remembered feeling like this before! If this was being a teenager, he understood _exactly _why he wanted to be a kid again. His body was cheating. Stupid hormones were playing matchmaker with the one girl he didn't want to be with. Why Misty? Why her? Why not someone else, someone pretty? Couldn't he have fallen for the other sisters? He could've understood that. People couldn't understand why, Ash Ketchum, crushed on (and yes, he did know when he was being crushed on (a kiss on the cheek is not the best way to be subtle, ladies)) by plenty, would choose to pursue the scrawny redheaded girl trudging through the sand beside him.

"Ash, forget about thinking about how to find a new way around these problems. I'm telling you, it's got nothing to do with the Legendary pokémon getting mad at your because we're reading each other's diaries. I'm taking my shoes off," Misty said, a gentle tap on his arm sending shivers rushing all over. She giggled. "You're shaking. You got a fever, Ketchum, or is that rose still playing with your head? And unless you got a fever, Ash, don't answer. It's a rhetorical question. I know how bad you are with those."

"Not funny," Ash muttered, crossing his arms sullenly over his chest and kicking the sand. "Why are you taking your stupid shoes off anyway? You don't need to. I'm doing just fine in my shoes. Besides, I don't want to smell your disgusting feet. If you take your shoes off then I've got to deal with the heat and my sweat and the sand _and _the gross smell of your sweaty feet. I've already gone through enough today."

She collapsed onto the sand, apparently not minding the fact that her back and hair would be covered in wet sand when she stood up. "Aw, is little Ashy all worn out?" She snickered, playfully tugging on his pant leg. "Sit down. Relax for a minute. I'm sick of walking through this stuff. The only bad part about the beach is the sand. Too bad they've got so much of it, right?" Ash didn't laugh, which was beginning to tick her off. "Come on! Not even a courtesy laugh at my attempt to be funny?"

"Ha ha," Ash growled.

"That's not a courtesy laugh. That's just being a jerk," She scolded. Misty's hand wrapped around his ankle and twisted, sending him crashing into the sand with a surprised shout. "There, now stop being so uptight and relax. I guess now is a good of time as any to talk about what happened with those flowers. I bet that's what you've been thinking about all this time, right? I think that's the only thing short of Gary Oak that could get you that stressed out."

"I wasn't thinking about it!" Ash defended. "I…I was thinking about the flowers, but not what happened with the red ones! I was thinking about what happened with the black ones, how freaky they were. That's what I was thinking about. I thought those were cool. If they hadn't been after us, I think it could've been a great pokémon attack. If only they didn't turn red like that, bet you could win a lot of battles with that move. How many times do you think a pokémon can use it without getting too tired?"

"You're horrible at trying to change the subject, Ash," Misty grinned. "Come on, let's get nice and relaxed, and we can talk all about how you're in love with me and how you want to kiss me and, ooh! Somebody's blushing Ash Ketchum!" She pinched his cheek with a giggle.

"Misty!" He squeaked, rolling away. He scowled and her and rubbed his cheek. "Quit it! You…you were blushing back there too. It wasn't just me. Besides, it was the flower that made me do all that mushy stuff. Why would I ever say that to a girl?" Misty was consumed in another bout of giggles, letting Ash decipher what he just said with ever reddening cheeks. "I mean, I wouldn't say that too any guys either! I hate romance! It's was the flower that made me do it!"

"Ooh, a flower as an excuse. I guess you'll have to stick with that story. I've got it easy, being a girl and all. All I have to say is that it's a girl thing and all you guys will leave it alone. Besides, I don't think a flower made you blush whenever someone accuses us of being love birds, now does it? I don't remember a flower being back there."

(Huh, I don't either Misty,) Pikachu grinned. (Why, perhaps Ash _does _have his first crush! Oh, I can't wait to tell your mother! What will she say when she finds out her little Ashy-boy is all grown up? I can just see her face now. Misty, you'll finally be getting the wedding you've always dreamed of! I've heard you human girls like to wear their mother's wedding dresses, would you like to wear your mother's when you become Mrs. Ketchum.)

Misty wrinkled her nose. "Mrs. Ketchum? I mean, nothing wrong with the name, but…how can I be Mrs. Ketchum? Mrs. Ketchum's always going to be, well, Mrs. Ketchum to me. Ash's mom. I can't imagine anyone else playing the role."

(You'll just have to name your children Ash. Oh, I don't know whether to be happy or sad! Imagine, Misty, little Ash and little Misty racing around, throwing things at one another and having little fights. And if you have more than two! I'll have to have a bunch of little pichu of my own just to take care of all of them. I don't think you two could handle them all by yourselves. You two can barely handle yourselves by yourselves!)

"Shut up!" Ash shouted, bright red, kicking sand in their direction. It merely caught on the wind and blew back in his face. He really was starting to hate sand, and the laughter of Misty and Pikachu. "You two are already planning my life out! I'd never, _ever _have kids with her! I hate her! It was just the stupid flower! I would never even ask Misty out or kiss her or even give her CPR to save her life because I hate her!"

"Well," Misty crossed her arms, only slightly offended. Ash _was _an emotional boy. She'd learned by now he didn't really mean half the things he said when he was angry, or, in this case, humiliated. "Somebody's being grouchy today. We were only teasing, Ash. What I said was nowhere near as bad as what you said. I'm a girl, you know. What if I cried or something?" She joked lightly. The dark haired boy refused to laugh.

"You're not funny," Ash muttered, turning his back on her. "Stop trying to be."

"Ash," She said warningly, crawling closer. "You'd better show me a smile and stop being so crabby or I'm going to have to make you cheer up." Misty let the smirk she had desperately trying to conceal sit on her face. Her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him tight against her, bringing her lips close to his ear with a deadly whisper. "And we both _know _how I'm going to do that. You better smile fast, Ash."

"Lemme go!" He shouted, trying to twist out of her grasp. The spell from the flowers had long since worn off, however, despite what Ash would like to believe. The strength the rose had granted disappeared, and Misty was once again the strongest one in the situation.

(Misty, I don't think that was the answer you were looking for,) Pikachu said, eyes gleaming excitedly. (I'm on your side with this one. Ash really should brighten up a bit. It's been so long since I've seen his beautiful, boyish smile that fills me glee.)

"You traitor!" Ash cried. "It's only been a few minutes since you've seen my smile!"

(Alright, I lied. I just love to see either of you two being tortured. Tickle him, Misty!)

Ash squealed as the fingers moved along his stomach, goading laughter instantly. One of the problems of being so close all the years was that Misty had no problems going under his shirt to torture him the way she wanted to, despite his pleas. "You have to be punished somehow, Ash. After you said all those things to me how could you think I'd just let you get away with it? Not to mention you really freaked me out back there with that rose. You thought you were so cool, knowing how to freak me out. I know you just about as good as you know me. I know all your ticklish spots, Ash Ketchum. I've tortured you enough to know."

"Misty, stop!" He laughed, grabbing at her hands. "_Please _stop!"

"Hmm, I don't know. I don't think you _really _want me to stop. What should I have you say this time? Well, we've already heard 'you're my best friend', 'you're the better trainer', 'I think you're pretty', and not to mention the infamous 'Ash Ketchum is a loser'. But, what tops it all? What could you possibly say that really gets on your nerves? What really annoys you? Oh, I know what was making you mad earlier! How about you say 'I want to kiss you, Misty'?"

"What?" Ash shouted through peals of laughter. "I won't say it!"

"Alright then, I guess I'll just keep having my fun." She brought one hand up to tickle under his arm. For a second, her fingers stopped, her head spun. He was so close, his breathing heavy and body warmer than the sun beating down on her back. He somehow managed to smell good, too. She knew he smelled of sweat and dirt. She knew she should've been revolted by it, but she couldn't help herself as a shiver ran down her spine. He still smelled familiar, right, brought her to someplace that felt like home. It lasted for a second, a heartbeat, then her hands were back in action, racing over his skin.

"Stop!"

"There's only one way to make it stop."

"I won't say it!"

"Then I won't stop," She laughed.

"Misty! Stop!" He twisted around in her arms, this only leading to give her better access and the two tumbling down onto the sand. "Alright! Alright! I…" He had to stop to laugh, his ankles digging into the sand. "Misty, I want to kiss you!"

The fingers stopped, and Ash's laughter cooled to a heavy panting and a breathless smile while Misty continued to giggle above him. "I can't believe I got you to say that! I figured I'd have to stop before you passed out but you barely made it long at all this time. I guess you're not used to my most effective strategy anymore, huh? I don't know why I stopped doing that try and get my way. It always works on you."

He grinned, "Well, it's not really fair since you're not ticklish. You can't lose a tickle fight if you're not ticklish. I think that's cheating. You always win by cheating. Why don't you just find some sort of straight forward way to win instead of…" he stopped and looked up at her, helpless in her giggling fit. "Stop giggling."

"I can't," She said, covering her mouth with her hands. "I just can't believe I did that. I haven't done that since we were ten. I mean, two years isn't that long of a time, but when you've only lived for twelve…it's like forever! I haven't had that much _fun_ in forever! Wonder why?" Misty sighed, partly with relief, as the giggles died down in her throat. Her sides were starting to hurt.

"Guess it's been too long since we've been alone. We always have someone else hanging around. Maybe we're too popular for our own good," He laughed a bit and shook his head. "Are you comfortable up there or not? You're not exactly as light as a feather, you know. I wouldn't mind if a certain redhead got off of me so I could breathe without feeling like I'm in a weight lifting competition." He grab her shoulders and squeezed them tight, hoping to get her in enough pain that she'd roll off.

Instead, her head dropped down to his chest (even though she had to shuffle lower on him to do so) with a smirk. Then, her voice as if merely stating a fact. "Ash, you're covered in wet sand. It's absolutely disgusting. You shouldn't roll around so much. You'll chafe all over and I'll have to listen to you complain all day. You know how I hate it when you start getting whiny. You better shower the best you can when we get to…where we're going."

"Ha ha, and you say I'm always the one getting us lost. You're the one who's been walking in front and you don't even know where we're going."

"Can it, Ash, you're such a child."

"Says the girl who just decided tickling me would be the grown up thing to do," Ash retorted. Misty's face popped up, bright red, to give an embarrassed, fake smile to Ash before dropping back down. "Ha, I finally got you speechless! You don't know what to say. I think I finally won an argument. First time ever. First time for a lot of things for me today. Will you _please _get off of me? You're freaking heavy!"

"Alright, you won the argument," she sighed. Misty struggled to sit on his chest stomping on his arms to pin them to the ground casually. She finger combed her bangs while she talked, not looking directly down at him. "Now, play time is over. I guess we've got to be serious now, huh? It's time to talk about what happened, Ash. Whether it was the flower or not, you scared the crap out of me back there. I think we have to talk about…" She trailed off uncertainly.

"Our feelings?" Ash finished, glad to see that her cheeks were red too. "Misty, do we have to? Just because of a stupid flower you want to screw up our friendship? It isn't worth it! You know we can't handle stuff like this, we never could and we never will. It makes you nervous and it makes me nervous. We just…we can't handle it, Misty! We're not…" He dug his nails into the sand. "_I'm _not brave enough to do this."

"You saved the world!" Misty snapped. "What are you talking about? You're not a coward by any means Ash! You've got more bravery than anyone else I know! You'll jump off a cliff to save a life! You'll crossdress to get a badge! I mean, when the odds are stacked against you you'll do whatever it takes! You've been close to death! Not even close to death, you've _been _dead! So you're telling me that death is more inviting than being with me?"

"Not being with you, telling you how I feel!" Ash shouted. His tone softened as his head turned to the side, looking along the beach. "When I fight people…they already hate me. There's nothing I can do to make them hate me anymore or suddenly make them like me. I mean, if I screw up, everyone knows at least I tried. I die in…in vain?" Misty nodded to show him he got his wording right, then realized he wasn't looking at her, and told him so. "Well, I die in vain and everyone still thinks I'm great. But, Misty, I can't do this. I'll lose no matter what answer I give you. We've got a great thing going. Why do you want to screw it all up?"

"I…" She started. Ash didn't interrupt her, like she hoped he would, because she had nothing to say. Her mouth just hung open before she sighed with defeat and closed it.

"You know how you said I scared you earlier?" Ash whispered, finally looking up at her. "Well, I stopped once the rose let me go. It doesn't matter whether or not I liked you. If you were scared, unless it was to help you, I'd never make you do anything you _really _didn't want to. Like I'd never do like Fear Factor and put you in a bathtub and fill it up with cockroaches. I might tease you with a bug, or if we were in a dungeon full of bugs and the only way we could get out was to walk through a bug infested cavern or else we'd _die_ then I'd make you, but I wouldn't do it just because I felt like it." He swallowed. "And Misty, you're really scaring _me._"

Misty bounded off of him like he was suddenly covered in the cockroaches he had been speaking of and pulled her legs to her chest as she sat in the sand. She let her head fall forward so she could do her best to fight her tears. "I'm sorry, Ash. I know…I know this stuff is scary. It's scary for me too. It's just so weird and…I think it's too big kid for even me to handle. I love all that stuff, at least, I thought I did. Love always made since in the movies and in the books but…in real life? Romance is just plain strange to me. Nothing follows the rules like it's supposed to. Sometimes it doesn't turn out right in the end. Sometimes the person you like doesn't like you back! Not that…not that I have any experience with this kind of stuff," She said hurriedly.

"I don't either," Ash agreed. "You're just talking about the kind of stuff you've seen with your sisters, that's all."

"Ruh-right," Misty nodded, picking her head up for just a moment before the cool wind reminded her of the tears on her face. "I wish it could all go away. I wouldn't mind not talking about it. But…aren't we supposed to? Isn't that what always happens in the end? The boy and the girl talk about their feelings after something like that happened, and then everyone lives happily ever after. Shouldn't we do the same?"

"Why should we? It's our lives. We don't have to do anything just because they say we do. We can do whatever we want to do." Ash rubbed his neck unsurely for a moment. "Misty, we're…we're not teenagers yet, not really. We're only twelve. I'm not even sure if either of us can, y'know, actually make babies yet..."

"Actually, Ash, seven year old you could've gotten a girl pregnant. I don't know about me yet. I _could_," She shrugged. "I'm not exactly ready to find out."

"I'm not either!" Ash gasped, bright red. "Jees, Misty, don't think of it like that! Trust me, Mist, I'm nowhere ready to have babies, and you know that you're not either. We're not going to be ready for a long, long time. I wasn't going in that direction at all, Misty! I didn't mean anything like that! The rose is long gone and I'm not even anywhere near thinking that kind of stuff anymore. It's just pokémon training and food thoughts for me! The rose is all gone."

Misty rolled her red eyes. "Uh-huh, that's for sure."

"Aw, Misty, don't be like that," He tried to console."

"Just make your point already, Ash."

He gulped. "But…I know I'm not ready for a girlfriend yet. I'm not ready to date or to kiss girls or any of that stuff. We're only _twelve_, Misty. If I know you the way I think I do, that's all you've been thinking about through all this either. You're probably thinking about how all your sisters had oyfriends and dated and were kissed when they were our age. But you're forgetting something, like you always do." He rested a hand on her arm. "You're not your sisters. You're you. And I don't think that you're ready for a boyfriend yet, either."

"How do you know?" Misty snapped, glaring at him.

It was better than nothing, at least her head was out of her lap and her anger really spurred him on. He dropped his face close to hers, grabbing her shoulder when she tried to back away and continued in a low voice, "_Because,_ Misty. If you really wanted a boyfriend, if you wanted all the stuff your sisters had, do you think you'd be doing your very best to get away from me? When I was flirting with you and all back there, don't you think you would've flirted back, instead of trying to make me stop? Don't you think instead of fighting what your body says it wants you'd be listening to your heart thumping in your chest and moving closer instead of farther away?" He dropped her arm and scooted back, ignoring the slight tingling in his hand and racing heart.

"How do you know everything I'm feeling?" She whispered, trying to find the answers in his face. "It's like you were right there inside my mind the whole time, knowing what I was thinking and what my body was doing…that's incredible."

"No, it's not. The only reason I can do that is because I feel it too." He paused. "Misty, listen, I've been thinking. I know it's weird to hear from me, but I have. Most of it was about how much I hate sand and roses because after all this, I don't think I'm ever going to want to touch either of those things ever again. But, I did think about other stuff, like what's been going on with us, and I think I know what it is."

"Yeah?"

"Misty, when we're all grown up, as teenagers? You know, when we start getting all hormonal and moody and we listen to rock music and angry music because we hate the world and everything and we always flirt and kiss in public and all that other gross stuff that us kids don't want to see?" The girl nodded, obviously intrigued, and leaned forward. "Well, I think that when we grow up, we…we still _like _each other."

"What? We _like _each other? Like, we're dating?"

(Okay, if either of you would listen to me,) Pikachu began while their discussion continued on, (which you're apparently not going to do, I'd be telling Misty about your little slip up. Couldn't you have heard him? Huh? You just missed your chance. When you grew up, you could've remembered that and you two could've been making out and getting married and having little kids for me to take care of, but no. You were too busy realizing why you were acting so weird. Retards.) She glared at the sand, leaping onto Ash's shoulder and curling up there peacefully. Pikachu muttered under her breath, still rather cross, (Dammit Misty, slip up of his lifetime. The boy said _still like each other._ Why'd you have to miss it?)

**

* * *

**"Well, here we are, and I don't even know whether it's beautiful or ugly," Danny said, thumbs hooked under the top hemline of her skirt. It was the best she could do without her favorite belt loops on her favorite jeans around her waist. 

"The scenery or the people?" Damian giggled.

Danny groaned, "Both. I thought this place was supposed to be a paradise. I guess nobody cared enough about this precious place to keep it clean." She kicked a beer bottle with disdain. "Ugh, everyone's drunk. The place reeks of alcohol. One of the times I was out of the box, the basement was a wine cellar. The bottles broke, the floor was covered in wine, and this place still smells worse than that. I can only imagine how their brains look."

"Why aren't they dead yet?" Damian asked, scratching his head in confusion.

"We've discussed this, Damian," Danny said. "I'm not going to discuss it right now. Maybe if you're a good boy I'll explain it to you later, alright? You're better at feeling people than I am. Do you want to try and feel Misty out for me? I want to spy on her, which means we have to be able to see her. Try to keep out of her sight, Damian. I can't be known to be down here and we both know what a horrible liar you are."

"Aw, but Danny, I really am a great liar. I'm a really good story teller and that's all lying is, really. It's just telling really good stories. I can tell plenty of great stories about a boy named Damian. Besides, nobody will ask me for what my past is like. I'm Damian Garcia, and that's all they need to know. That's all they'll want to know, I bet. They'll be to busy watching me do all my acrobatic stunts!" He giggled and kicked up into a handstand, easily keeping pace with her while walking on my hands.

"Are you enjoying yourself, little demon?"

"I'm nowhere near little, but I sure am having fun. The sand is warm under my hands."

"Come down, then. You're going to hurt yourself if you stay in a handstand for too long. I can't imagine how hot the sand must be if the fake sun is shining on it all day. Not to mention how you're going to get sand in your eyes if you keep that up. I don't want to waste time cleaning out your eyes to be sure you're not blinded, so get down from your handstand and walk on two feet like a normal person."

"Aw, but Danny, my eyes are closed!" Damian protested. "The sand's not hot either, it's just warm. It is paradise. The sand is just the right temperature. With all the drunks that fell on it, I bet they were wishing nonstop that the floor wasn't so hot to them, don't you think?"

"You're probably right," She sighed, wondering whether or not to wish the shoes away. Then again, the shoes did come out of Violet's closet. She was almost positive they couldn't be wished away. "It does seem like something a drunk would wish for. Instead of wishing to be sobered up so they couldn't hurt themselves, they just wished the things that hurt them were out of the way so they could keep on drinking. It could've been a child though, after getting their feet, or hands," she looked at him pointedly, though he missed the gaze, "burned to a crisp. We'll probably not know for sure."

"Well, shouldn't you know?"

"Why would I know?"

"You granted the wishes, Danny!" Damian gasped, startled enough by her response to topple out of his handstand. "You told me yourself that you granted every wish I didn't steal through imagination. You took the wish, I took the imagination, and nobody imagined just-warm-enough sand. Though I think there's a person down here addicted to chocolate and wireless internet service from what I remember."

"Sure, I granted them, but I didn't take a tally of who did and didn't. Don't tell me you take the time to remember all that!"

"Of course I do! That's how I get to know everybody down here. If everyone was lined up, except for Misty, would you even be able to tell who's wishing and who's imagining?" Damian gasped at the eye rolled that followed his question. "You wouldn't? Danny, that's horrible! No wonder you didn't understand the imagination! You don't even know how to build a relationship with your Wisher! That explains it!"

"For your information, I'm very, very good at getting people to trust me."

"That you may be Danny," The boy agreed, "but there's a difference between a relationship and getting someone to trust you. And from what I know about you, you're not good at all with relationships." He sighed as the girl stormed away from him without a glance back. "Just look at ours. That was a train wreck that ended with a fiery explosion of death. Danny, I know you can hear me. Do you want to talk about it yet, or are you still scared?"

"I've never been scared," She stopped and turned to face him, her face dark.

"Goody, then we can talk about it."

"Oh no we can't," She snapped. "There's nothing to talk about. What happened, happened and now it's over and I really don't want to discuss if with you or anyone else. You're so persistent about getting back together but I don't see why. You seemed keen to end it yourself. You're the only one here who's to blame. It's all your fault it ended and I'm not letting you screw this all up again. _That's_ why we're not getting back together."

"I never said a word about getting back together, A,"

"It's Danny now."

"Damian never had a relationship with Danny, but Unown B sure as hell had a relationship with Unown A." Even in anger the boy's tone was still light, quick, hopeful. "And I didn't bring this to an end. If I'm remembering right, which I'm sure I am, you were the one who broke up with me. How is that my fault?"

"You think I didn't see you with her?" Danny spat.

Damian blinked. "Saw me with…?"

"Hey, look, two more new people! That or I really do suck with names. You two are newbies, join up with this one. I'm giving a short three minute tour of the place," Natty said cheerfully, interrupting the heated discussion. "This is Leya Ann, or Ann for short. She says that's what everyone calls her."

"Hi," The thirteen year old said with a shy smile and a timid wave. She played with her hair for a moment, flushing when her brown eyes met Damian's. She had black leggings, denim shorts, and black shirt somehow not making her sweat in the heat. She'd gotten the hang of imagination much quicker than Drew. "Uh, I'm Leya Ann. It's nice to meet you. I'm thirteen. How old are you guys, or, um, what are your names again?"

"Damian," Damian said with a smile.

"Cassandra," Danny lied, twisting her voice hi. Her words came out in a gush. "It's, like, so nice to meet new people. I don't know, like, how we got into this place. Ohmigosh, I don't, like, even know where I am. Like, one minute I'm walking into a gym for a group date and, like, the next I'm in this retro place. Ohmigawd, right? Like, wtf kind of feeling going on. The beer all over the place is gag me with a spoon gross. So, how does this place, like, get internet?" Danny asked. No response. "Like, hello?"

"She doesn't care. I think it's the Valley Girl thing," Ann whispered.

Natty blinked. "Who doesn't care about Valley Girls? Oh, right, I'm supposed to talk to you three about how this place works. I guess I was just taking a minute to enjoy peace and quiet without Brian. I ditched him at the shack. Why? Because I really don't like him and it makes me happy to know he might be crying out there, somewhere." She sighed dreamily. "Anywho, this is a magical place where imagination rules…"

_Hey, Danny? _Damian whispered in her mind.

Danny groaned and began to explain herself, keeping her telepathy enclosed to just his mind. _I chose a false name so no one would tell Misty that a girl named Danny showed up. That's just asking for trouble, Damian, and the last thing we need right now is trouble._

_I know Danny, _He said. _I'm not as stupid as you think. I just wanted to know what it means when a girl thinks you're nice and she doesn't even know your personality._

_They probably mean your looks. If you're nice looking, it could mean anything from a friendly compliment to finding someone attractive. You know, mate wise, not friend wise. Why did you bring that up, Damian. It seems kind of random._

_Well, I was tuning into their thought to see if they knew anything about Misty and the purple haired one said I looked nice. From what I can feel, I think she's attracted to me. Mate wise, not friend wise. She didn't think it in a friendly way._

Danny's eyes narrowed, and Natty shivered. She turned to Ann. "Hey, Ann, do you have an impending doom feeling right about now? Sometimes I'm not the only one who knows when I'm about to be in big trouble. I was hoping maybe you'd have the strange feeling."

"Everyone does sometimes. It's the fight or flight response. It's probably because you heard something or saw something predator like. It's something that comes out of millions of years of evolution. I didn't feel anything though. Maybe you're imagining things," Ann smiled supportively. She let her eyes flicker to Danny once, a bit suspiciously because of the narrowed eyes she'd seen earlier, but dropped the subject.

"I guess I am," Natty shrugged. "Er, anyone hungry because I'm in a pizza kind of mood. I'm feeling generous to the newbies, so you choose. Chicago or New York?" She looked at the floor, in a weak attempt to hide the blush growing on her cheeks. "Damian, which would you like?"

"What's the difference?" He chirped.

Danny kept her face still, but her jaw line tightened as she ground her teeth together. _Oh, I'm going to kill the little son of a bitch._

"I just got that feeling _again!_"

**

* * *

**"So you're, like, kissing now?" Max wrinkled his nose. 

"Yeah," Drew grinned, cuddling close to May. "We're kissing and holding hands and all that kind of stuff. We do it all the time, though we try to do it when you're not looking. In fact, we're going to make a restaurant tonight and have our own dinner date while you're here having your own private dance party. You should thank Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak for the idea. They came up with it, after all."

"I did, thank you very much," Max said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I know my manners, even if I don't show them to you. How can you blame me? You're my older sister and guy-who-was-a-jerk-to-my-sister. They're not exactly titles that demand respect."

"You know, if you're going to be that way, we're just going to have to punish you," May said with narrowed eyes. "When mom's not here, I'm in charge and I can punish you if I want. Just because you're jealous of me because I finally got a boyfriend and you still don't have anyone even though you hit on a whole bunch of girls when we were traveling with Ash doesn't mean you can be rude to me, or make fun of me."

"You make fun of me."

"So?"

"So?! So I should be allowed to make fun of you!"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm bigger than you," May said, sticking out her tongue and pulling down an eyelid at her angry brother. "Quiet down and play with the other kids or you're going to be punished. Don't think I'll go easy on you either. I'm not mom. I don't mind punishing you. Just be glad I don't believe in hitting."

"Then how are you going to punish me?" Max snickered. "There's nothing you can do! Go ahead and try! What are you going to do? Ground me? I can imagine anything I want in my corner. I can read magazines or play video games. You can't win!"

"I'll help," Drew smirked. He tilted May's face to his and kissed her, May getting the idea and kissing back instantly. Unfortunately, the romantic moment was ruined because May couldn't contain her laughter at her brother. He was shouting about his innocent young mind and how he was damaged for life and all other sorts of things. "And if you don't listen to her again we'll have to punish you in the exact same way. Call me a sadist, but I think I enjoy his punishment."

"I can never unsee this moment," Max moaned, covering his eyes. "Thanks a lot for ruining my childhood."

"My pleasure," Drew snickered.

Evan burst through the door, panting with a horrified look on his face. "Guys, I lost Brian."

"How'd you loose Brian?" Lidia yelped. "You only had him for thirty minutes!"

Evan groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "He's not hurt or anything! He's fine! He wanted to play hide and seek tag. He wanted to hide and then when I found him he was supposed to run to the base. I found him, and then he ran off and I tried to follow him but he ran under thorn bushes which was _not _anywhere near the base." He narrowed his eyes. "I think he planned it the whole the time."

"Did you even try to go after him?" Lidia asked patiently.

"The bush tried to _eat me!_" Evan shouted,, throwing his arms up in the air. "I _tried _to go after him, but then his head popped up on the other side of the bushes and he was laughing at me so I figured he'd be okay. The bush doesn't care about him."

"The bush didn't go after him, but it came after you?" Lidia said incredulously.

"Exactly," Evan nodded. "The bush started wrapping around me! It was trying to scratch me. It wouldn't let my shoe go. It grabbed it and tried to drag me back under when I ran. Brian just ran right through without getting hurt at all."

"But why would it do that?"

"It's because he's not a teenager," Misty said, striding through the door with a smile. "Hello. I've been reading the diary and I'm now officially a teenager." A few scattered claps was all she got for her grand accomplishment. "The flowers? Be careful. The black ones try to kill you and the red ones make you fall in love. Ash got caught up in one. He fell in love with Pikachu. Lucky thing she managed to paralyze him with a thunderbolt so I could get off the rose or those would've been some ugly babies, right Ash?" Misty lied. She looked around her, realizing the black haired boy was nowhere to be found. "Ash! Where are you?"

"I'm reading!" Ash shouted. "It's not fair! You're a faster reader than I am! I'm _trying _to be twelve, but your stuff is a lot more complicated than mine is. Why do you have to be so detailed with everything, huh? I thought Violet was the writer in your family!"

Misty groaned. "Ash, get your butt in here."

"Not until I'm a teenager like you are! It's no fair if you're older! Why don't you try and find Brian? You can have a stupid encounter with the stupid roses and then maybe you can stop making fun of me about it," He snapped. The boy curled up tight, reading the diary as fast as he could. He was always a bit younger than Misty, a few months. For all he knew, he could've been at the same point in time as her, but he didn't care. "I'm going to finish before she does, Pikachu."

(You are competitive about the weirdest things, Ash.)

"Get your butt inside, Ash."

"But _Misty_," Ash complained. "I'm not done reading yet."

"Ash!" She said icily, storming over to him. "If you don't get inside right now I'm going to…" She looked beyond him, tilting her head to the side. "Hey, look, Ash. New people. Let's go introduce ourselves." She snatched the diary from his hands and snapped it closed despite his complaints. "It's my diary, Ash. I can tell you to stop reading it any time I want. Let's say hi to the new people."

She toppled to Ash's lap in surprise when words came from behind her, carefree and bright.

"Do you know how to build a sandcastle?"

* * *

There we are. Took me two weeks to update, but I did. It should be winding down now. The story spinning down to the end. Very nice. Hope you're enjoying it! 


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: Hoist the Colors, Enchanted, or any of the songs mentioned in this.**

**(Mildly related to updatedness)** I hate my fish. It's a horrible thing to say, but I do. Recently, two of my fish died. Why? Our fish tank broke and my Dad said to himself "Well, we can put them in the bathtub. Hot water? Nah. Let's just leave it ice cold. Fish don't care about temperature."  
…My darling father everyone, a round of applause. So now then we tried to get rid of the last three "T-Dogg" (catfish), "Chester" (goldfish, 3 years old) and "Mondo" (I got him in second grade. I'm in ninth now. He's about the length of 3/4 keyboard.  
Then T-Dogg and Mondo died, so Chester is living with my turtle.  
Well, because of that we've been making phone calls to find out where he is, I got twenty projects, therefore I've been updating slower because I write one-shot on notebook paper in school. Not plot fics. Oh, and writer's block.

**Very Relevant: **Okay, now about Damian's diction in this chapter: The reason he speaks the way he does is because he's trying to be polite, kind, and courteous. This is why he uses different words than he normally would've.

* * *

**Chapter 19**

Misty looked up from her spot in Ash's lap, looking horrified. No, not at her predicament. That hadn't quite struck her yet. Instead, she stared with horrified surprise at a human wearing a skirt and a tank top was smiling cheerfully at her. Tanned skin, dark eyes and hair, a smile that even gave _her _a touch of infatuation were sitting on top of the body that occupied that outfit, features that were so obviously male. So great was her surprise and shock (as having a handsome cross-dressing male come up behind you can be quite startling) that she could only manage to speak one redundant word, "Suh-Sandcastle?"

"Yeah," Damian beamed, sitting down and cocking his head to one side curiously. "You know how to build one, don't you? I've always wanted to build a sandcastle ever since I found out what it was three weeks ago when I turned from an Unown to a human. You've got red hair, and he's got black hair, so I think that you're Misty and he's Ash. You two got married when you were little upstairs. I thought it was really cute."

"Who _are _you?" Misty squeaked, not bothering to move off of poor Ash. "I mean, you're an Unown? How…How did you get down here? Why did you…? Do you know Danny? No, she's not Danny anymore! Unown A! Is she here? Do you know her?"

"Misty get…" A pathetic gasp. "Get off, Misty. I…I can't breathe," Ash raised a fist to punch her back lightly. Sure enough, he couldn't. He didn't have enough strength. Misty was quite a bit heavier than him, what with the added height and girls hitting puberty first and all. He did hear somewhere muscle weighed more than fat. He thought he should start exercising. Then he decided, nah, it'd probably easier just to put on a bunch of weight by eating cupcakes.

Misty looked down at him, realization suddenly striking her. She shrugged to herself, she didn't mind really. They'd been in much more compromising positions before. This one looked practically harmless. After a moment of delighting at his strained face, she looked back up at Damian and the approaching girls. "Sorry, Ash, can't hear you. Hey, Natty! Who'd you bring with you this time? I thought you weren't going to bring them to us anymore."

"I changed my mind. Besides, this guy seemed to know who you were. His name's Damian. He says he thinks he's fifteen. This one's Ann, and she's…probably however old you are right now. How old _are _you right now, Waterflower? Thirteen?" Misty nodded. "Whoo, awesome. Got it right."

"Misty, I can't breathe!" Ash moaned beneath her.

"Liar. If you can talk you can breathe," Misty shot back. "You're obviously talking so you're obviously breathing. Besides, you're very comfortable, Ash. All those extra pounds you've been packing on makes you as squishy as a Snorlax, Tubby!"

"I'm not tubby!" He wailed. "My chest hurts."

"I'm not _on _your chest I'm on your stomach, which is why it's so hard for you to breathe. You see, I'm crushing your diaphragm and part of your lungs. This means, your lungs can't expand as far and your diaphragm can't work as well. You know, if you worked out or made some effort to be in shape, maybe you'd be able to push me of and you could breathe. You've no one to blame but yourself, Ash."

"I can blame _you_," Ash pouted. He managed to get a hand around her ankle and dig in his bitten nails. "I'm going to keep this up 'til you get off of me, so you better get off of me or it's just going to get worse!" That may have been a bit of an exaggeration. He didn't exactly know how he was going to make her hurt more when he was already using all the strength he hand. He needed to stop biting his nails if he was going to start using them to threaten people.

"Ow, Ash, quit it," Misty said, twisting her ankle a bit.

"No!" He cried. "I won't!"

"Does Ash know how to make a sandcastle?"

"Yes!" He shouted joyfully. "I do! I know how to make one. Quick, get Misty off of me and I'll help you big the biggest, best sandcastle in the whole wide world! We'll make one so big, Pikachu could live inside it, right Pikachu?" He looked at the mouse. She nodded. "Pikachu will even help build it!"

"Excuse me, Miss Waterflower?" Damian asked with a smile. "Would you mind getting off Ash so he can teach me how to build a sandcastle? I really don't know if I can do it without him, and I really would appreciate your help."

"Aren't you sweet?" Misty grinned, a slight blush covering her cheek. "If you'd help me up, I'd be glad to!" She extended a hand to be hauled to her feet, then quietly brushed herself off. With a reflective look at Ash, she said, "You should learn how to be polite, Ash. Ordering a lady around never gets anything done, you stupid boy. I probably would've gotten off of you if you had just been nice and said please."

"If _I _said please?" Ash said hotly. "But _you _never say please!"

"Doesn't mean you shouldn't. Be a gentleman."

"_You're _a gentleman!"

"You did _not _just call me a guy you chauvinistic-"

"If you'll excuse me for interrupting, I would love to build a sandcastle straight away. I'm an Unown, and I don't know exactly how long I'll be able to stay in this form. For all I know, I could revert at any moment. So, Ash, if you could please carry out on our deal and come down to the beach with me, I'd be a very happy creature." He flashed the cutest smile he could manage in hopes Ash would get up sooner.

"Wait, an Unown?" Misty said, grabbing his wrist, her heart starting to pound with excitement. Now she could finally get some answers. "Do you know Danny, er, Unown A, I mean? Have you met her? Are you just brainless, like the rest of them, or can you think like her? Are you on her side, or ours? Is Danny here too?"

Damian thought carefully before putting his free hand to her shoulder. "I would be glad," he began slowly, "to answer every one of your questions. It is, in fact, what I came here to do. However, in order to keep my mission in the current state of…secrecy it's in I'm going to have to ask you to pretend you don't know what I am, pretend I'm just a normal human like you, and come down to the beach to build a sandcastle."

"I don't understand. Why can't you just tell me? I'm the one who's causing this whole mess. I've got control of both Danny's powers and your powers and…come to think of it, all the Unown's powers. I can keep you safe from anyone who wants to hurt you as long as you stay close to me. Come inside the cabana. I make walls for it all the time. No one will be able to see what you're saying. You can just lie and say we watched a movie or something!"

"I understand that you really want to know what's going on-"

"I do! I don't understand anything that's been happening to me or Ash and this whole stupid place. If you know what's going on, can't you just tell me? I have to know! If I have to wish you into telling the truth I swear I will! You better tell me right no-"

Damian covered her mouth, with his own for a second, attempting to shut her up.

"What the-" Ash began.

Damian interrupted him by talking to the dazed girl. "Listen to me, there's a lot going on and you are absolutely _not _in control. She warps your mind easily. You're just a pawn. If you want to take her down, you need to let me give some directions, and you're going to have to take them. From what I can hear, you don't want to take orders. You're going to have to, just for a little bit. Can you do that for me? Please? For both of us?"

"I think you freaked her out too bad to answer," Ash snarled under his breath, crossing his arms. Damian looked at him, almost as if to urge Ash to continue. "I don't care if you're human or not, you can't just go around kissing people! How old are you anyway? I don't know what the other Unown told you but she's only thirteen right now whereas you're, like, twenty six or something! What's wrong with you…you…you pedophile!"

"What's a pedophile and why are you so angry?" Damian blinked and tried to think. "I didn't insult you. I didn't hurt you. I've been polite to both you and Misty. I guess I wasn't supposed to kiss her, like you said. That's the mouth thing and kissing is like pressing and the human body sure acted like it was some kind of pre-mating activity. Oh, I get it. You thought I was trying to hurt your mate or steal her from you, right?"

"She's _not _my-"

"I wasn't trying to steal her. I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

"She's _not _my mate and I'm going to hurt you so bad-"

"If she's not you're mate, then why would you be angry? I haven't stolen her from you."

"Um, hello?" Ann spoke up with a sheepish smile, her hand half raised through school habits. It seemed to work, though, as all attention turned to her. her face flushed for a second at all the attention, but faded quickly when she started to speak. "Er, Damian? I know what's wrong. Ash and Misty aren't, er, mates, but they secretly want to be." Ash started to complain, but Ann spoke over the noise. "Uh, I think the problem is that you kissed Misty, and now Ash is jealous."

"I'm what?" Ash gawked. "I'm not!"

"I can kiss you too, if that would help," Damian suggested with a smile.

"No, you weirdo! I don't want you to kiss me!" Ash growled. "She means I'm jealous because you kissed Misty and I didn't! I'm not jealous though! I could only be jealous if I had a crush on Misty, if I liked her that way, and I don't like her that way at all! We're just best friends. Jerks." He crossed his arms and turned his back to the group, trying his best to tune out Misty's 'that's not what you said before'.

Natty waved them off with a smile. "If you two want to run down to the beach with Damian to get this all figured out, it's fine. I've got to get Ann settled and I'm going to introduce her to the cabana people. While I'm in there, I'll tell them what's going on with you guys. I'm sure everyone'll be fine with it. Maybe you three will be able to come up with some sort of plan to get out of here. Damian seems to know what he's doing."

"I do," Damian said proudly. "Except I don't really know how to build a sandcastle. Can we go now?"

Misty nodded. "It sounds good. Ash, everything okay for you?"

He glared at her over his shoulder, hugging his legs to his chest. "No, everything isn't alright. He just up and kissed you and you don't say anything for it. Aren't you angry that some random guy just kissed you? You'd totally beat the crap out of me if I kissed you! I mean, just because he looks cool and hot and stuff you go for him and don't even thinking about…anyone else." He blushed and put his face into his knees.

"Oh, Ash," Misty shook her head. "It's not because he's good looking. It's because he's a pokémon. He'd an Unown. He's got no idea what he just did. It was just a way to make me stop asking questions. Tell you what, we can explain to him that what he did was wrong, and if he ever tries to kiss me again I'll punch him in the jaw and knee him in the groin. No guy is going to get away with walking up and kissing me without buying me dinner first."

Ash sniffed. "So it's not because he's hotter than me?"

"No, Ash, it's not because he's hotter than you," Misty shook her head, chuckling. "Trust me, if he knew better he'd be just as dead as you'd be if you tried to kiss me the first time we met. I don't take this kind of stuff lightly." She kissed her fingertips, then tapped them on his face. "Don't you cry over me, you big baby. Your eyes are shining and they're turning a little red. You're still my best friend, and you're not exactly the ugliest guy I've ever seen."

"Really? I'm not?" Ash asked, a small smile fighting its way onto his face. He wiped his eyes and let Misty help him to his feet, giving her wrist a tight squeeze to say thank you. "So, Misty, are you saying I'm hot?"

"I'm not _not _saying that," Misty said carefully, half smiling as well.

"Am I hotter than Damian?"

"You're _really _pushing your luck now," She warned. "Hey, Damian! Let's go down to the beach! You want to build a sandcastle, don't you?"

The boy finished an acrobatic act off one of the many poles holding the large cabana up, kicking up a mound of sand as he landed. "Ooh! I do! You're really going to help me?" He stopped and ran a finger around his sweaty collar. "I'm getting really, really hot. Do you know how I can fix it?"

"Take your shirt off," The red head suggested.

"Misty!"

"What? Pokémon or not, I'm sure no girl is going to complain about him taking his shirt off."

"Grrr…"

**

* * *

**

Hand in hand, the couple which a vast percentage of my reviewers consider to be their favorite strode down the path. May was in front, arms out to her side as if she was flying while she walked on a stick laying along her path. Drew, just a few paces behind her, was rubbing his swiftly worsening aching temples with his head back to the sky. The expression on his face seemed to scream, 'why oh why did I fall in love with _that_?'

" '_Yo ho, haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die,_' " May sang in her weak interpretation of a British accent. It wasn't right to blame her for it. After all, one can only match an accent so well from just a movie clip or two. "Is that not the saddest part in that entire movie, Drew? I mean, the poor little boy got hung! All those other people just lined up to get their necks broken…it's so crushing."

"I thought we came out here to be alone and do something fun, but no. It turns out you just want to talk about movies and dead people. Way to be a romantic May. You are _very _good at this. Now, what next? Oh, I know! We can watch the nature channel. I hear they're having a special on cute, fluffy bunny rabbits getting killed. That'll get us both into a really romantic mood. Even better, let's talk about venereal diseases!"

She blushed. "Well, what else am I supposed to think about?"

"Well, _I'm _here. You could think about me," He smiled charmingly, whipping in front of her path. He laid his hands on her waist as she nearly wobbled off the thin branch. "Or, we could skip the daydreaming and move on to the thing both of us are thinking of."

"First off, I've no idea what you might be talking about, William Shuu Williams. Secondly, I really don't think I'm thinking what you're thinking, because I'm thinking of the poor little boy in that movie getting his neck snapped like the turkey dinner I'm trying so hard not to think about." She giggled, wriggling a little in his grasp. "Thirdly, Drew, do you think of anything else but the thing you say we're both thinking but I have no idea what it is?"

"I think of nothing but you, my love," He said in his most romantic voice.

May, obviously not swayed by his charms, giggled at his attempt and began to skip down the path again, arms wide out to the side. "Uh huh, and I know exactly why you're thinking of me. You want to make out with me. You're very impulsive when it comes to women Drew. I guess everyone has to have a weakness. Ash has his stupidity, Brock has his need to woo every woman he comes across, and you have your need to romance any girl you find particularly interesting."

"Judging by your reaction, my romancing isn't working."

"I do like it when you romance me, Drew."

"Then why aren't we kissing right now?" He snorted. "You obviously haven't seen very many romance movies, May. There is always kissing involved in romantic scenes. I tell you what a fantastic, lovely woman you are, you become weak in my arms and we share true love's kiss."

" '_I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss, and the prince I'm _hoping _comes with this_'," May giggled, spinning around.

"Don't you start that again," Drew narrowed his eyes.

" '_Don't stop, belieeeeeeeeeeevin!' _"

"May!" He shouted.

"Well," She said, grinning. "Is Drew cranky?" Her arms fell to her sides as she fell into stride beside him. "Listen, Drew, I know where you're coming from. I understand why you'd want to kiss and make out and all that nice stuff. That's what they do in the movies, but…Drew, we're only fourteen. Kissing's fine every once in a while, but it doesn't need to happen twenty four seven. We don't have to grow up that fast."

"It's just kissing May."

"Kissing for us is like having sex for grown ups!" May exclaimed. "They don't have sex whenever they get the chance, except for honeymooners, but they don't count. You know what's a nice romantic evening for us? A date that leads to hand holding and maybe, _maybe _a little peck on the lips at the end of the night. That's my idea of a romantic night between the two of us for now. Just that sweet stuff you expect from people our age."

"No more kissing?"

"There will plenty of kissing Drew. You don't have to worry about that," She giggled, shaking her head. "Can't we just take it slow?" She looked at him seriously. "Can you find it in you to take it slow? I know it's weird for you, it's weird for me too. We've just been one problem after another, but I guess that's bound to happen when you've got two people who are so different trying to work something out between them. We're always going to have problems. We're always going to fight."

"Are you trying to…?" Drew asked, swallowing a sudden lump in his throat.

May, seeing Drew's face, panicked. "Oh! Oh, Mew no! I'm not breaking up with you, I'm not! I'd never do that! I just meant that we'll fight, but the important thing is that we learn how to deal with it and compromise and work it out."

"I'm willing to compromise."

May breathed a sigh of relief, "Good."

"There _will _be kissing."

"Yes."

"But not _a lot _of kissing."

"Exactly."

"About how much kissing?"

"About once a week we can have a completely awesome, face melting, freaking-out-Max, scaring-my-parents, lock-the-doors, hide-your-daughters-because-Drew-is-coming-to-town make out session," May conceded. "Maybe, just maybe if I'm in a good mood you'll get your fix of me a little more than once a week. Maybe twice a week. Hey, who knows, maybe you'll have a good week and get a make out session every day."

"Am I that good this week?" he asked seductively, leaning closer.

May leaned closer, a dreamy smile on her face, before kissing his nose and racing away with a wicked cackle. She turned to look at him when she was nearly about half sized in his sight. "You're not that good! Catch me if you can, _William_!"

"Dammit, May! Can't you grow up for once?"

"Nope!" She giggled.

"There you guys are!" Evan exclaimed, walking the opposite way down the path. "I was looking for you. You need to be back by six at the cabana. Misty's got a new friend that's going to help us get out of here. He's an Unown or something. We've practically got a spy now. I bet we can sneak in to the leader and get a sneak attack in. I could probably imagine up some pokémon since all of mine were left in my bag." He frowned. "Which wasn't teleported with me to this place."

"It's not all that weird," May shrugged. "I'm sure it was just to keep all the new people coming in from using some kind of psychic pokémon to undo all the stuff that's going on around here. Did you have a psychic pokémon with you?"

"I _have _psychic types," He began, then sweatdropped, "but the one I was trying to level up was taking too long so I left it in a daycare center for a while. I guess I didn't have one on me then…so why can't I have my pokémon?!"

"Because bad things happen to good people," Drew rolled his eyes. "Could you leave now? We're trying to have a date."

"Hehe, right," He chuckled, starting to walk away. "Er, don't mind me. You two lovebirds have fun! Just remember, six o' clock at the cabana!"

**

* * *

**

Lidia raced up the trail behind May and Drew, panting. "Great, I found you. See, Misty found this new friend and-"

"Six o' clock in the cabana," They chimed together. "We got it."

"Oh, Evan found you?"

"Yup."

"So, six o' clock."

"Yeah, yeah," Drew rolled his eyes. "We got it already. You don't have to tell us fifty times. Can you leave, please?"

Lidia laughed lightly. "Sorry. See you at six."

**

* * *

**

"Drew, what time were we supposed to show up?"

"No idea. Seven?"

"Sounds about right."

**

* * *

**

Danny paced back and forth furiously. Her blonde hair whipped around her face with each turn she made in the said as if trying to rub the red off her face. Her eyes were narrowed, trying to keep up sand, sand, and the heat she was sure would be boiling the blood in her veins. Mew, it was hotter than hell in this place. She didn't know how people could stand it. She didn't know how she had managed to stand it for this long.

She let herself down on the sand, stretching out comfortably. The shoes had been ripped to shreds by fingernails and the remaining tidbits of Secret Power that had somehow clung to her human form. This was one of the most beautiful things she had ever experienced. Her swelling toes wriggled themselves into the sand, a sign of her allowing the stress of the day to disappear for a moment. She'd get wrapped up in the dreamy spell that lay over the place.

"I hate this place," Danny sighed, raising a hand to brush some loose strand of blonde from her freckles. "Damn drunks. Humans ought to wish for a better nose, that's what they should be wishing for. Maybe then they'd be getting rid of this nasty smelling stuff instead of wishing more of it up. I need to get out of this place. I need to get out of this body. I thought human would be fun, but it's horrible. Damn teenaged body, ought to get a new one. I'll be able to once I get enough power. Stupid Damian, one body for each form. I can change it if I get enough power. I can change anything I want if I'm strong enough. Stupid Damian."

Her eyes suddenly stung. She wiped at them furiously. "Mewdamned sand. I hate sand. Gets in your eyes and makes them water all the time. Gets in your throat and makes your voice all gravelly and makes it crack."

She jumped to her feet again, back to her stomping, angry pacing. "Well, f—k him. F—k Damian. That little bastard deserves whatever he gets. He's a no good rotten cheater. Acts all sweet and innocent and doesn't even know how to keep his mitts on one girl. How many does he have to go after before he thinks it's enough? Probably never enough. Men don't care as long as they've got something to mate with." She wiped her nose and choked back a sob.

How long had it been? A month? Fifty years? A hundred years? Mew, it didn't matter. It was too long ago to still be hurting. It was too long ago to matter.

But, oh, how it did. It still burned. Every time she thought back to that moment, where that cheating jerk had been caught red handed. Not that she brought him into the open, like she should've. She should've brought him before the Council of Unown. She should've told the world what a jerk he was. She should've attacked him, screamed at him, done anything to bring what he'd done out into the open, so he could feel some kind of shame for his actions.

But, yet, she didn't. She had floated away with tears in her eyes and accepted the rejection. She'd accepted he cheated. She'd accepted he loved someone different. He loved someone smarter, prettier, calmer, someone who wasn't her…

**

* * *

**

_It had been nighttime in the box. Once upon a time, before she had taken over, the box was a nice enough place. It was practically the pokémon world, if the pokémon world was inhabited only by Unown and untouched by human hands. There were no buildings, no trails, no smoke streams floating up into the clear blue sky. There were just millions upon millions of Unown, plants, ocean, and the puffiest white clouds imaginable. There were different environments, of course, dessert to rainforest to grassland, but all in all, it was a beautiful place. It was a paradise any creature would've loved to go to, even if just for the shortest while._

_But, beauty tends to go unnoticed when one is constantly immersed in it. Even more so when you've always been a bit on the angry side and have suddenly been called in by the Grand Council of Unown for a (pardoning the pun) unknown reason._

_So it was with Unown A as she hovered down the lonely path, through the forest and to the grassy clear where the meeting was to be held. Despite her complaints, her grandfather had forced her to come. Of course, he was on the council. Why wouldn't he be? All to make it worse. Whatever crime she was being charged for would embarrass her in front of her family then send her back to where she came from as the scapegoat once again._

_The only highlight would probably be her mate, Unown B. Friends practically since birth, they'd grown close over the past centuries. Their families had always been close and it had always been expected that they'd one day be mates. Her parents had jokingly said that it was a good thing they hadn't arranged the marriage or their rebellious daughter would've been against ever meeting the pokémon, and probably would've killed him rather than play hide and seek._

_She entered the clearing as straight and stiff as she could. "Unown A. I have been summoned?" It was supposed to come out as a statement, but emerged as a question. Some kind of foolish hope that they'd got the wrong person, they'd send her on her way._

"_You have," said Elder Unown O._

"_To what purpose, may I ask?"_

"_You are not in trouble, my child, relax. You have done nothing wrong." The elder called everyone 'my child'. It was one of the old woman's quirks. There was a sudden light lilt in his voice as he continued, "Nothing wrong that we know of or could persecute you with as an actual crime. However, dyeing other Unown bright orange for no other purpose but sheer entertainment, revenge and rebellion should certainly be a crime. Even if it s to protect one's mate from temptation, my child."_

"_I apologize. You are right."_

"_You do not have to speak so stiffly in my presence," The older pokémon chuckled. "Speak as you would to a family member."_

"_She had it coming!" Unown A immediately exclaimed. "Unown B…Unown B's _my _mate. No one else should be allowed to look at him like that. Nobody else should be allowed to talk to him like that. He barely even knew that she was flirting with him. I had to protect him somehow. When your mate is an innocent to the world and its deceptions as B is, you have to take care of him. Especially if you have a duty to continue a royal line and all the other pokémon around are complete di…pardon my language, Elder Unown O."_

"_It's pardoned."_

"_Oh, thank Mew. Now, could someone please tell me what I'm here for? If it's not dyeing Unown E orange, what could I possibly be assembled for? I'm not required to have an heir yet. I have another few hundred years before that!"_

"_No, you do not have to provide an heir." _

"Then why in hell am I here? Pardon the language."

"Language pardoned."

"Thank you." 

"_You know that recently…we've been out of the box."_

"_Yes" Unown A said, letting the happiness show through in her voice. "It was wonderful. That couple got together. It's so sad they ended up dying in the end though. It's almost like a twist on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. This was one of the best out of the box times I've ever had."_

"_You know there were casualties outside the box?" _

"…Casualties?" Unown A asked.

"Yes," Elder Unown O said cautiously.

"What do you mean by casualties?"

"Pokémon…they died outside the box. We did not want them too, but it did happen." 

"_And that's _casual_?" Unown A gasped, her temper flaring. _

"No, it is not." 

"_But you called it _casualties_!" She shouted. "Who died? Unown I know? Friends? If I go flying around, will they not be here? Did you delete their memory from my mind or something? How could you just let that happen! How did Unown die?"_

"_They attempted to grant more wishes than they were capable of," Elder Unown O boomed. "And no, we do not tamper with our people's memories. It is a disgrace for you to say something like that, so settle down!"_

"_Then why haven't I noticed these so called losses?" Unown A growled. "Shouldn't I be able to tell who is and isn't missing?" _

"Have you seen your parents lately?" The old pokémon hissed.

The world felt like it had come crashing down around her. "Excuse me?" 

"_Have you seen your parents lately?" She repeated icily. "It is a simple question. I would doubt that you have, considering they _are_ the casualties. Maybe if you had spent more time looking around you and realizing the world does not revolve around you you might have noticed that the leaders of our kind have passed on."_

"_This is a horrible way to tell me my parents have died. Couldn't you have my grandfather tell me in private?" She hissed, her throat closing up and a low rumbling was heard to the normally useless ears of the council. "I'm hauled in here, thinking I'm in trouble, and then you spring this on me. I barely even _know _you and you tell me so informally, like you're a family member, like this hurts you anything like it hurts me. It's _my _parents. Why didn't _you _take some of the mewdamned burden off their shoulders?"_

"_They did not want us to. They wanted to die with dignity rather than live with the shame of not being able to fulfill their duty."_

"_That's bullshit! You could've helped them! F—k dignity!" She milked the psychic connections between their minds for all it was worth. "What's dignity when you're gone? I'm not exactly ready to live on my own yet. I need someone."_

"_You have the entire Unown community." _

"The community is not going to help some random Unown. They're either idiots or they don't care. Really, why would they care about me?"

"They have to care about their queen."

"Queen?" 

"_Yes. Your parents were King and Queen. Now they are gone. You are the only living heir. You are now queen. The first out of the box, the last one in. You will be the first to change into new shapes. You will be the first to protect the human. You should be glad. It is quite an honor, my child. If you will follow the other elders we can began your training. You have a lot of talent, I am sure you will make a fantastic queen, Unown A."_

"_I won't do it," Unown A whispered. "I won't. I won't let you kill me like you killed them. I don't _want _to fulfill our so-called duty. I won't be queen and…and you can go ahead and exile me if you want! B will come with me! We'll get out of this box and you can find a new queen! Get someone else to die for you! I won't be a pawn!" She spun and flew from the clearing, Elder Unown O's cry to let her go only spurring the angry pokémon on._

_And when she finally found Unown B, or Damian as he preferred to be known as in present day, she was broken._

_There he was…with someone else, the very orange Unown E. He wasn't just with her, he was pressed against her, back on a tree. He didn't seem to be particularly unhappy with his position. His eyes seemed a bit surprised, but they were still happy. He was the same excitable Unown she'd fallen in love with, the same Unown who she had presumed just a few minutes before loved her back and might be her king one day._

_Apparently, she was wrong._

_And, honestly, if she was wrong about that and if there was no one else to runaway with, what was the point of trying to escape one's fate? This practically proved that she was supposed to be unhappy, was supposed to take her place as queen and do what the Elder's said. She should fly back with her tail between her legs and submit to what she couldn't deny. But, If she couldn't be happy herself, she could sure as hell make others suffer._

_Especially happy, loving couples and a certain cheating pokémon who deserved to die._

_Yes, she'd get her revenge on the good-for-nothing jerk. It might take a while, but she would. He'd be hurt like she was._

_She just needed to get the mewdamned dust out of her eye that was making it water so badly._

**

* * *

**

She swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her hair out of her face. She wouldn't care. They weren't mates anymore. She didn't care about him any more than he seemed to care about her. She would just have to move on and find someone new. Someone much better than Damian. There were drunks on the island, weren't there? There were hundreds of drunks, plenty of men who were looking for anything in a skirt.

Well, she was in a skirt, wasn't she?

She smoothed the said object around her thighs, then strode out towards the mob of dancing drunks, trying to pick a good one out. Damian had made her attractive enough to land any guy she wanted. Her and alcohol, what a deadly combination.

With a twist of her wrist she snatched a beer bottle from a passing girl, tilting back her head to down it in one swig. She dropped the empty bottle in the sand, swinging her hips as she marched up to a single drunk. The man was swaying a bit, blue eyes the same shade as hers wide under the same sandy blonde hair set in the same sharp features. They could practically be twins but for their gender and ages.

"Wanna make out?" She asked simply.

He blinked slowly at her. "Huh?"

"If you don't have a girlfriend and you've got nothing better to do, do you want to make out? I've got a few hours to kill," She grinned while looping her thumbs in the hem of her skirt and twisting her hips up on one side. She cocked her head, hoping to look as flirtatious and sexy as possible (and wasn't doing to bad for her first try). "Hell hath no furry like a woman scorned. You don't mind me taking my revenge off on you, do you?"

The boy grinned back, taking the bait. "How big is your boyfriend?"

"Smaller than you," She replied in the same flirty tone.

"Than I think you've got yourself a deal," He chuckled. Then, as the gentleman that seemed to linger inside the drunk, the boy held at his arm as if to escort her. "I'm Ryan. Wanna get away from this crowd so we don't have to hear that 'get a room' crap?"

Danny smiled, laying a hand on his arm. She'd made a good choice. "I thought you'd never ask."

**

* * *

**

I hope you enjoyed!


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Stephen King short story that is referenced in here. If you can find it, you're my new best friend.

* * *

**

**Chapter 20**

Ash glared.

No, no, he wasn't jealous this time. Well, he was a bit jealous, but for once it didn't have anything to do with Damian (who, despite what Misty thought, he was _definitely _hotter than.) He had been jealous all the time earlier, however. The whole way to the beach she was flirting with him (she always flirted with everyone) and he, not really knowing what he was doing, spent his time flirting back, and asking Ash hundreds of questions about how exactly he was supposed to make a sandcastle.

As they trailed down to the sand, Ash had immediately dropped to the sand, wished up a bucket and shovel, and began teaching Damian how to build the best sandcastle possible. He had expected Misty to help, but _no. _She didn't help in the least! The young gym leader spent just a few minutes playing in the sand, hollowing out the earth and making a mound behind in. A lounge chair for one.

"You're not going to help?" Ash growled.

"Of course not, Ash," She grinned. He guessed her eyes were closed under the dark sun glasses she'd made, happy at her current position. Her toes curled deeper into the wet sand, cool under her toes the deeper she dug. The book she was holding didn't even twitch as she finished, "I don't know a single thing about building sandcastles. You seem awfully good at it though. Make it a little bit bigger and its Pikachu sized. I'm sure your pokémon will appreciate that, huh?"

"Are you enjoying my diary?" He continued to snap. "How old are you know? Fifteen I bet! You read fast. Not just that, you read all the time when I can't! You could help out here, y'know! Why don't you do something useful instead of finding out a bunch of stuff to blackmail me!" He picked up a handful of dropping sand from the moat of the castle, the liquid like substance pouring through the cracks in his fingers.

"You better not be thinking about doing what you look like you're thinking about doing!" Misty warned.

"Oh, I'm thinking it!" Ash snapped. He shoved both hands into the sand, then brought up the fistfuls he began to hurl at her. "And now I'm actually doing it! You can get down and dirty just like I did! I hope you get sand inside your bathing suit!"

Misty shrieked, picking up her own handfuls of drooping sand and tossing it his way. "I _will,_ thanks to you! Hey! Don't you run, Ash! Get over here so I can shove this sand down your shorts!" She got to her feet, slipping and stumbling throughout the action before barreling towards him, water and sand flying off behind her as she chased the squealing boy down the beach to the churning ocean water.

"Misty don't!" He shouted, stumbling deeper into the water as she snatched at the back of his shorts. "I'm sorry! You don't have to do it! I apologize! I was stupid, I wasn't thinking! I couldn't help it! You didn't even do any work and there I was! And I had to do all the work when you could just sit there and read my diary! I mean, you can't blame me for being a little mad about all of it, can you?" He asked sweetly.

The seething look she gave him said it certainly did. And as she reached for his shorts, scooping up another handful of sand, Ash managed to think of something that just might get him out of the whole situation. "Misty, uh…Misty! Think about it! You're technically putting your hand down my pants! Should you be putting your hand down my pants right now? Or ever? Stop for a second and think about whether or not you really want to do this!"

"You're right Ash."

"I'm right?"

"I should think about it. Do I really want to do this? Should I really be putting sand down your pants? I mean, you were jealous and angry. You did apologize. Your actions were horrible, but why should I copy them? I should be the bigger person and just let it go. If we ever want to become adults, better friends, and have a meaningful relationship between us, we should learn to discuss our problems," Misty said reflectively.

"Exactly! That was exactly what I was thinking of!"

"Or, I could make myself feel better but shoving sand down your pants," Misty said, grinning. "Guess which one I'm planning on doing?"

Ash shouted as cold sand shoved down his shorts, only lessoned by the ocean water his lower half was covered by. "Misty! Why? I thought we were past all this stuff! You're worse than the bullies in school! Come on! …Why are you grabbing my hair?"

"The better to dunk you with, my dear," Misty chuckled. "If you're going to call me a bully, I'm going to be a bully. Since I don't have a toilet to dunk your head in, I figure this is the best it's going to get. Take a deep breath." And then she dunked him into the water. She turned her eyes to the boy on the beach, not struggling with pinning Ash under the water. "Damian, how's that sandcastle coming? It looks great. Are you having fun?"

"This is _lots _of fun," He nodded eagerly, running his finger along the side of the castle to make intricate designs. "You know, I wouldn't mind spending a while with you guys. Can I spend the night at the cabana? I don't have a place to sleep and I don't, well, I don't want to be alone."

Misty grinned, having a feeling this was all part of a plan. "Sure, you can sleep with us tonight. It'll be great to have you with us. You're such a sweetheart and…hold on." Misty held up one finger and raised Ash, panting and wheezing, out of the water. "Okay, Ashy boy. You can either go back under the water or you can tell me you're sorry for calling me a bully. I'll let you go if you beg me," She taunted.

"You get…way too…much enjoy…ment out…of this…" Ash panted, eyeing her position carefully. "But you…are defin…itely…a bully!" He grabbed the wrist tangled in his hair and pulled it down throwing her with all his might into the water.

Damian waved his hands, giggling. "If she's anything like the girls I know, you better run. I think she's going to kick the crap out of you!" Suddenly, the Unown turned human burst out laughing, clapping his hands with joy. "Turn around, her face is hilarious! She looks real mad! Ooh, you better run!"

Ash gulped. Misty was standing behind him alright, hair dripping, face stuck in a perpetual snarl. "Now, Misty, I was just trying to protect myself. Don't you think we should be friends, hmm? Don't you think we shouldn't hurt each other?"

"I'm going to _kill _you," She snarled, jerking towards him.

Ash screamed and raced off into the distance with Misty behind him, leaving Damian to finish his sandcastle alone and reflect on a time when he had very much the same relationship, and wonder where it went.

**

* * *

**

_She'd been moody ever since they had gotten back in the box._

_She always was moody, regardless of the circumstances. Though, her moods seemed mostly to consist of anger, bullying, and sadness. He'd grown used to it over the years. He didn't mean the verbal abuse, physical abuse, the taunting and teasing until he had to float away to hide his tears. It was worth it for the blissful moments he had when she would smile at him, or compliment him, or the very rare times when she would defend him._

_She did seem angrier, though, whenever her 'glimpse of freedom' would be 'harshly ripped away by those human bastards'._

_She seemed even angrier than usual today._

"_Mew, this damn place," Unown A snarled, sending out another burst of secret power. "I don't care how fancy they make it! None of it's real! When it comes down to it, we're just in an empty, white box with no way out! I'm sick of living this fantasy! Every time we get a glimpse of freedom we're…we're just harshly ripped away by those human _bastards!_ We don't get to do anything! Why do they give us this power and then take away our power to use it?"_

"_I don't know," He sighed._

"_Oh, Unown B, can't you at least try to argue something interesting? I've given you so much to work off of and you're not giving me a thing. I need someone to stimulate my mind, don't tell me you're like all those other mindless drones."_

"_I try not to be." _

"I don't think you are."

"I'm trying _to think, honestly." _

"No you're not._ You'd be able to come up with some kind of argument if you were!" _

"I'm thinking, but both sides are so convincing."

"You mean the legend and me?"

"Yeah, I just don't know who to believe."

"You don't need to believe either one! Make your own opinion! Question authority! That's one of the first steps to intelligent! You've got to try!"

"I am _trying!" _

"You can't be!"

"I'm just not smart like you!" 

"_You could be if you tried," She said. He heard her swallow. "I…I'm sorry, B. I really am. I'm just afraid that you, the only person who seems to be able to think around here…what if you can't think anymore? What if you turn into another one of them? I keep telling myself I'm worried that I'll loose the only person that can think, the only one I can talk to. I keep trying to convince myself that I want you to think because it helps me." She turned away from him, but he herd her choke on a sob. "I'm afraid _for _you, though. I want you to be able to think, to learn. I don't want you to have to let go of everything you have."_

"_I don't want to be stupid either," Damian murmured. "I want to learn. I want to! I don't want to be brainless like the others! I like talking to you! I like it when…when my head feels like someone is pushing on it and then when I finally understand and all the pressure goes away, and I feel…good. I feel like I've done something right! I don't want to lose that." He floated to her. "And I don't want to loose what I have with you."_

"_You won't," She whispered. _

"But I will. _If I don't get smart we won't be able to talk and I'll be like everyone else." _

"I won't let that happen."

"You know you can't stop it if it really happens. If I turn," he paused, "primal." 

"_That's what you think," She said, sure of herself. "I'll find a way! You'll see! I'll teach you. I'll fix you. I'll keep you smart. I promise, B, I won't ever let you be like them. We'll break out of this box together. Anything's better than this place, right?" Unown A paused, then sighed. "I'm sorry, B. I've been summoned. I have to go. We can talk more about this later. We…we can try to read a book again if you're up for it?"_

_She was hopeful._

_He didn't want to read, it made his brain hurt. "Sure, no problem," He said, faking a happy expression. "I can't wait for you to get back. Promise to hurry?" The happy expression turned genuine when she promised and floated off, leaving him alone._

_Well, he was alone for a while at least._

_Unown E showed up just a few minutes after Unown A had disappeared. She was still orange, surprisingly. The paint shouldn't have stuck this long. All it should've taken was a little bit of power or a dunk in cold water to make it disappear._

_There was a giggle. "Hey, you're Unown A's mate, right?" Unown E asked, her floating movement slow yet variable as she moved towards him. "Yeah, you are. You know what? She covered me in paint. I'm orange now. She just…she made me this way and I can't imagine why. I just told her the truth. I said that she was stupid for questioning the council, and you know what she did then? She covered me in paint and I can't even figure out why. She's so mean. She's so evil. I hate her. Do you hate her?"_

"_No," Unown B said. "She's my mater. I love her. You know she's my mate so…why are you saying these things? Are you trying to make me mad at you? Do you insult someone I care about because you're trying to get me mad? Or are you trying to turn me against her as a system of revenge? She took your looks so you're trying to take her love. That's logical, isn't it? Is that what you're attempting to do? It won't happen."_

_Unown E blinked, confused at his ponderings. "Huh?"_

"_I won't turn against her. I love her. That's why you came here without taking off your orange. You're trying to get me to feel sorry for you and mad at her. I won't. She usually doesn't do these things unless you provoke her. You may have done it accidentally, but you should know by know that she's very violent, and she does things like this. There is no way you can turn her against me. I'll stay true to her, no matter what you say. You should go now. I've seen through your plans and they failed. I'm very sorry she turned you orange, but if you want revenge, you should go after her, not me. Goodbye, have a good day."_

"_Okay, I don't know what the hell you just said," She giggled. "I really don't. I was just, you know, trying to talk to you so someone felt like I did. Do you, I don't know, think you could talk to Unown A. I bet you could. You're her mate or something, so you should ask her how I can take this stuff off. It's starting to get itchy. I mean, do you know what she did to me? She put this orange stuff all over me for no reason! Don't you hate her?"_

_Unown B blinked. "I just told you I didn't. What do you mean by doing this? I can't see a purpose at all in repeating the question."_

"_Ugh, Mew, why are you using such big words?" Unown E moaned. "I _hate _when weird people do that. Use _small _words and don't be so…so weird. Just go with the flow, you know?" She gave a dizzy giggle. "That rhymed. So, have I told you who did this to me? You know, the whole I got painted orange problem. Unown A did it. She's _so _mean. Hey, you're her mate! B, Do you know how to get all this stuff off of me?"_

"_I just told you I didn't!" Unown B said, shouting. He blinked. What happened? His heart started jumping and he'd felt hot. He wanted, almost needed to hurt the stupid creature flying in front of him. What was wrong with her? What was wrong with _him?_ "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. You were just getting on my nerves very, very badly. Could you please stop asking me the same question? Just go to the water and the paint will come right off of you."_

"_Can't…can't you take it off for me?" Unown E asked weakly. "Please? I don't know what to do. You just use your power. You and her have the same kind of power, don't you? Just take off the paint! I'll give you something. I'll give you anything." Her eyes lit with a small sparkle of an idea. "I know, I'll be your mate if you can get this paint off of me! Will you? It won't be hard. I'll do anything you want me to. I promise to be the best mate I can be."_

"_No!" Unown B gasped._

"_No, you won't help me?" Unown E asked sadly._

"_No, I mean…you…Unown A…" He shook violently, trying his hardest to think like she had taught him to. "I'll help you! I told you! Just go into the water! It will come right off of you if you o into the water! I can undo the spell myself, but I might hurt you if I try it! You know I'm already mates with Unown A, so why would I want you to be my mate? It doesn't make any sense! What are you, stupid? What were you thinking?"_

"_I want the paint off. Do you know who-"_

"_Stop it! Just stop and think!" He shouted. This was what she felt. Anger. That emotion she never explained to him, that she couldn't explain to him. This is how frustrated and wild she felt when he just couldn't understand something. Well, he shouldn't make Unown E felt like he did whenever he couldn't get it. He should just end the conversation, now. Let it go. "Unown E, I think it's time for you to go now. Float back to your home."_

"_Float back to my…" She asked slowly. "I don't know what you mean. Please, can't you help me? _Please _help me! You have to get me out of this paint! I can't make it go away and…Unown A did this to me? Don't you hate her? I'll be your mate if you get this off of me," She promised again, moving as close as she could manage to him without touching. "I'll do anything to get the others to stop laughing at me. They don't want to be my friends. I really miss having friends."_

_Unown B scowled. "Keep _away _from me. I _have _a mate!"_

_He spun away, attempting to leave the anger behind with Unown B, but had no such luck. The female flew into him, slamming him into a tree and pressing up tight against him. Her attempt to be his mate. To save herself from being alone and mocked just because of orange paint._

_Unown B didn't pull away. He wasn't enjoying himself, unlike Unown A had thought (watching him now in her corner and soon after floating away). He was doing what she had taught him to do. He was _thinking._ His head was starting to hurt from the effort, but he was trying, and he was succeeding, and he thought he might just understand what separated some Unown from others. What made him and Unown A special and frustrated with the other creatures._

_It was because they could think. They could remember. They had morals. They thought of the future rather than just the present. Everything wasn't revolved around being accepted, matching the community, treading away from exile and making others happy. They weren't pawns._

"_Unown E, please get off of me," He said quietly. The female backed up, looking worried still, like a frightened animal more than a pokémon. "I'll take you to the river and help you clean off, okay? We're going to make this all better. Don't worry, alright? Let's go take the orange off and the others won't laugh at you anymore. I'm sure they'll accept you right back into the group." He soothed her for a little while longer, comforting her in a low soothing tone, then helped her clean off in some water._

_He was just being a good Unown helping someone else._

_Unown A didn't talk to him after that day._

_And he couldn't, not for the very life of him, understand why._

**

* * *

**"It's five thirty," May said quietly, prodding the small campfire they had made. They were each sitting in their own slightly uncomfortable collapsible chair. It was good to feel a little out of paradise every once in a while. Drew had protested for a bit, asking her if it wouldn't be better to make something comfy, like a sofa or a bean bag chair or just a regular chair that she _wished _was comfortable, but May would have nothing to do with it. It took just a few stubborn minutes before they were both uncomfortable in their collapsible green and red seats. "Are you completely sure that we were supposed to be back at seven?" 

"I don't know," Drew shrugged. "Maybe it was supposed to be later. It can't be that important, can it? If we miss anything I'm sure they'll fill us in on anything we missed. Let's just take a minute and relax for the night. I don't even think I want to be back tonight. Let's go back to that place in the morning. We can make someplace more comfortable out here. Well," He grinned, "You can make it. I can supervise."

She shook her head. "Drew, you know I hate being all serious with this stuff, but I've just got this…feeling. I guess you'd call it women's intuition or something. I don't feel good about being out to late. I feel like something is going to happen, something bad. This is the same shiver I got when Raquaza showed up. It's a lot stronger than before. Don't you feel…off?" She asked, wishing up a metal rod and a few marshmallows at the end of it.

"I'm not a woman," He grinned. "How exactly am I supposed to have women's intuition if I'm a guy?"

"Drew, would you stop teasing me about it! I'm serious! I really have a bad feeling about what's going on here!" May snapped, dropping her poker into the flames. "Oh! Snickerdoodles! Look at what you made me do!"

"It's still partly out," He scoffed. Drew carefully tugged the poker out from the flame, the lower half bright red, and exposed the beautifully charred marshmallow, more ashes than sugar. "Look, it's been rescued. It looks fine. Here, you can have it." He extended the flame broiled thing to May.

"Oh, Mew, that's nasty!" May wrinkled her nose. "I don't like my marshmallows well done."

Drew kept chuckling. "They are well done. It always tastes best blackened." He pulled the marshmallow off slowly and popped it into his mouth, licking each one of his fingers despite her disgusted pleads. "Mmm, that's a good marshmallow. Tastes just like an ash tray."

"That's disgusting."

"No it's not," He argued. "A little _too _dark for my tastes, but burnt marshmallows taste good. You should try one sometime instead of just keeping to what you're used to. You know what they say. Once you go black, you never go back." And with another laugh, he put the end of the metal rod in his mouth and pulled off all the marshmallow he could. "Make another marshmallow I can set on fire. Wish up some chocolate and graham crackers too."

"I'm your slave now?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "After you ruined my marshmallow and put your disgusting mouth all over the only metal rod I had wished up, you think I'm just going to give you whatever you want. Aren't you spoiled?" May made herself another metal rod, wished up a few more marshmallows, and began cooking them slowly just a centimeter or two above the flames, slowly rotating it. "You, sir, are not getting a single one of these marshmallows. That's what you get for being a jerk. You have officially been denounced from boyfriend to annoying family member. I don't share with my brother and I won't share with you."

Drew smirked and smacked May's hand, lowering the prod into the flame and setting all the marshmallows on fire at once. "And now they're on fire. Do you still want the marshmallows, or can I have the burnt ones? You can always wish up more." He kept his hands over hers as he pulled it back up to his mouth and blew out the flames, revealing the flesh of the marshmallow to be blackened with no hope of scraping.

"No, you're not getting these marshmallows," May retorted. She dropped the prod to the forest floor and stepped on the sugary goodness, smearing into in the dirt. "If you're _really _that desperate, you can have them now. I won't stop you."

"Nope," He grinned. "I'm not Ash. I won't eat those. But, how about persuading you to give me some of those lovely white sugar bombs?"

"You know I don't do peer pressure. We're not making out tonight either, so you're completely out of luck. What are you planning to do? Put me in a choke hold until I imagine up some more? Very Drew-like, very suave and smooth and uncaring," She said, lowering her voice and raising her eyebrows curiously. "I really do have a horrible feeling about being out here tonight, Drew. Can we please go back to the cabana?"

"It's barely even dark out May."

"But I'm worried, Drew," She whispered. "I don't like the way all this is turning out. I say we get out of here as fast a possible before this comes back to hurt us. Last time we didn't believe in bad feelings we ended up playing house with the children of Satan and the Devil herself. I don't want to end up in another Unown A incident. What if she tries to really hurt us this time, Drew? Aren't you the least bit worried?"

"No, because I know she's not going to touch you," Drew said calmly. "I'm here to keep you safe. I've got my pokémon with me, my cool exterior, my bulging biceps, do you really think anything is going to go wrong tonight? She's already won, last time I checked. What else could she want from us? We've been downgraded from dangerous reminders of Misty's past to meaningless pawns that might as well be like those drunks on the beach."

"I don't think so."

"What could she possibly use us for?"

"What could she have possibly used us for before we got down here? Why didn't she just let us go? She knows nobody believes us," May sighed. "Nobody believes us because we're not Ash, Misty or Brock. We've never been worth anything to her, but that didn't stop her from grabbing us last time, I don't think it's going to stop her this time. I _know _we're safe at the cabana though. Safer than we'll ever be out here."

"We have our pokémon back."

"You have yours back," She argued.

"Where are yours?"

"I let them wander. They've been cramped up in their balls. I thought it was a nice thing to do. They can't be in paradise and not experience it."

"Oh, May!" Drew moaned, smacking his forehead.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, putting her head in her hands. "It was stupid, I know, but I wasn't thinking! I just thought it'd be something nice to do for them! You've still got yours! That's better than nothing and maybe I am just being paranoid." She brought her knees to her chest. "I've been wrong about this stuff before. I'll stop being so jumpy. It's fine. It's totally fine. Let's just stay out here tonight and go back in the morning. Unown A is upstairs just where Misty left her. I don't have to worry."

"Let's go back to the cabana," Drew sighed.

"What? No! Drew, you don't have to do that!"

"You're worried. It's no fun for either of us if you're all freaked out," He shrugged. "It's no problem, May, you don't need to scream about it. Better safe than sorry, okay? I'm going to trust your instincts on this one. Besides, we were supposed to go back to the cabana and we should keep out commitments, it's wrong of me to try and get out of them by using you as an excuse. Let's go back. We'll put out the fire."

"We don't have to do this."

"You know we do," He said, putting an arm around her shoulder. "You're worried and you seem to be more in tune with all this supernatural crap than I am. Let's trust you instead of my male chauvinistic pigness."

She smiled at that. "Thanks, Drew."

He grinned. "I'm a good guy if I try, see?"

"Yes," She rolled her eyes. "You're my very sweet, very charming, very delightful hero and I wouldn't have you any other way. I wouldn't want you sarcastic or self centered or borderline metrosexual or anything like that," She giggled at the flicker of anger on his face. "What, you didn't like that one? You _aren't _by _any _stretch of the imagination a manly man. You're pretty girly, actually. I wonder how you'd look in a dress." She asked, looking him up and down. "You could pass for a girl."

"What every boy wants to hear from his girlfriend. You're just…" Drew paused for a moment. "Who's out there? I hear you. You broke a branch and there's no wild pokémon out here. Come out. We're not going to attack unless you stay hidden. I've got pokémon on me. They can see in the dark and have a great sense of smell. You won't be able to stay hidden!" Drew shouted, fingering the pokéball at his belt.

"Drew, I didn't hear anything. You're just imagining-"

"No," Drew shook his head. "I heard something. I know I did. I don't know who's out there but there's someone."

"There's no one out there," May argued, grabbing his arm. "Let's keep walking and listening. If you hear it again I'll let you search for someone, alright? It could be Sara or one of the kids running around. They play flashlight tag when it starts getting dark out."

"Then why wouldn't they answer when I called? The kids wouldn't be afraid of me," Drew asked her.

"Why would they want to make more noise? They don't want to be tagged. Let's _get out of this stupid place._ I really want to go back to the cabana. I don't want to fight anyone." She shivered. "I swear, this is a nightmare place sometimes. Someone might fall asleep and wish up the scariest monster known to man. Let's get out of this place." She gave his arm a vicious tug, almost knocking him off his feet as they went. "You've proved your masculinity, alright you psycho? Cut the testosterone for the night and we'll relax at the cabana. I'll even give you a marshmallow," She said, the last part attempting to be teasing.

"I…" He started. He looked at her. "I heard something, May, I swear I heard something out there."

"I believe you."

"Really?" He asked doubtfully.

"I wouldn't want to get out of here so badly if I didn't. I believe there's something out here, but I sure as heck don't want to wait around and find out what it is. I've had my fill of nightmares over the past few weeks, haven't you?"

He hesitated for a moment, the gave her a light kiss on the cheek. A curt nod. "Alright. We can get out of here. I said I didn't want you scared and I meant it. You better keep your promise about that marshmallow though," He urged her to giggle again. "Hey, even better idea. I'll race you back. No cheating and wishing up a bike though, huh? Let's have a fair footrace, see which one of us would live through a wild pokémon attack."

"If I was the slower runner you'd leave me behind?"

"Well, you know what they say," Drew beamed. "You don't have to swim faster than the shark, just the person you're swimming with. Three, two, go!" He shouted, speeding off down the trail with May screaming, half scared to be alone, half happy that Drew was acting a little brighter around her, before racing off after her and glomping him once they got to the white sand shores of the drunken beach.

**

* * *

**Danny stepped out of the shadows behind them, blinking. "Cabana? At seven? That's where Ash and Misty are. That's where Damien should be too if he knows what the hell he's doing." Her voice dropped to a growl. "I hope he knows what he's doing instead of being his usual retard self. He's all trusting of me now. He'll be getting the information off the two of them. He'll tell me what they're up to. It'll be good news, too. That boy couldn't possibly bring bad news." 

"What boy?" came a small voice behind her.

Danny spun to see two children, eyes calmly looking up at her with slight smiles. "Uh, where'd you two, like, come from? Shouldn't you two be, like, with your parents or, like, something? It's totally weird to see two little cuties like you out in the middle of nowhere."

"There's no point in talking like that," Sara giggled. "We both know who you really are under that exterior. Which do you prefer to go by? Danny or Unown A? Which one has finally started feeling more like you? It's hard, isn't it, to decide? Being a human gets addicting, especially to an Unown. It's nice to be the dreamer instead of the one who makes dreams come true. Tell me, Danny, have you had a dream in your human form yet?"

"I, like, don't have any idea what you're talking about," Danny lied, twirling her hair around her finger. "Like, what the fuck are 'Unown' and what do they have to do with me? You're, like, a little weirdo, aren't you? Where the _hell _are your, like, parents, kiddo?"

"Cut the crap, Unown A, I can see right through you. You want me to change you back into your Unown form? It's not hard. With Brian's help we can do it with practically no resistance on your part. In fact, we could probably make you _want _to change back. Don't make me have to prove it to you. I wouldn't want to make you do something embarrassing. Plus, poor Brian here would be carred for life if I used my mind to pull your pants down."

Danny felt her mouth drop open. "You're a psychic."

"Better than Sabrina will ever be," Sara giggled. "Better than any other human will probably ever be. I can read every word in your head. I can see the thoughts you haven't even thought of yet. I can see the thoughts you've forgotten, or, at least, what you hoped you forgot. It's all right there, like an open book. It's not like I'd ever abuse that power. Power should only be used to help people, never harm them."

"That's fantastic to know. Thanks for sharing. But, you should know that if I am an Unown my power is much higher than any average human psychic. Do you really think it's a good idea to match minds with a Legendary? I don't like hurting the innocent either, but if you get in my way…" She grinned, "well, you're not exactly innocent little angels anymore, and I have no problem taking down trouble makers."

"I am _not_ your average human," Brian growled, his little fists balling. "You want to see where we are? You want me to ruin this entire set up you have here? I can do it, you know. Sara doesn't have to help me. It'll take more work that way, but I think it might be worth it." He whispered. "Don't try me, Danny. I can ruin this whole thing for you. I've been staying out of your way so far, not because I chose too, but because I was having some problems. Psychic powers this powerful and a human body don't exactly mix. I go insane, on and off. I can't even promise I can finish this conversation with you before I lose it again."

"Fascinating. I'll try not to test the tiny little boy in front of me," Danny chuckled. She swept a hand at him, urging psychic power into the motion to toss him backward a few feet, only stopping when he bumped lightly against the tree. "I'll try not to hurt you, sweetheart, but I can't make you any promises. You know how these powers are. You're completely in control one second and the next you just seem to lose all restraint."

Brian stood, little face furious, and looked up. Danny was instantly swept off her feet, hanging upside down in the air and thrashing wildly to get out of the psychic grip around her ankle. "You better apologize. I can only hold my emotions back so much. If you don't say you're sorry I'm going to crush your ankle like an egg. It's going to hurt, and I'm going to be happy I did it because that's what little girls feel like. I _want to see you cry._"

"I'm sorry," Danny hissed, scratching at the invisible hand around her ankle. "I'm sorry! Let me go! Try to be gentle when you do! I'd like my brains to stay inside my skull if you don't mind. You can tell me whatever you came to tell me. Apparently you were gifted with a lot more fucking psychic abilities than I was. I'm not surprised. Arceus and Mew and all the Legendaries seem to favor humans over us."

"It's not favoritism," Brian snapped, letting Danny down to the floor slowly. "It's the protection of the weak. The evolved weak and it's our duty to help them, the fragile things that they are. They have brains and no brawn. Unown were gifted with brawn and no brains. It seems someone made an error when they made you," Brian murmured. "Must be horrible, to be as smart as a human with all the drawbacks of a pokémon. Tell me, did you always have to fight yourself?"

"I don't know what you're thinking of," Danny snarled, stumbling a few steps back. "Tell me what you came here to say. Try to stop me if that's what you came here to do! I can't stop _you _from anything you want. Spoiled rotten brat. You've got all your powers and you don't even have to fight for them! You little hypocrite. You say you should only help with powers. You're certainly not helping me! Senseless violence!"

"How does it feel to have your body fighting your mind every inch of the way to get rid of the intelligence you strove for? How horrible was it that your Unown body just rejected any thought of independence? Any thought of hope or dreams or plans?"

"Shut up! You don't know what you're talking about!"

"You don't have to fight the human body to keep your intelligence. You don't. Damian doesn't. You can both think now, and learn. It's not pointless. It's nice, isn't it? And your bodies are so flawless in human form. They're a reflection of your Unown strength. It's not you bringing anything to your shape. In fact, your soul could be ripped right out of this form and someone else could use it. You'd just go back to your Unown self, the one you were supposed to be."

"Stop it!" Danny screamed, covering her ears.

_The truth hurts, doesn't it? _The psychic voice whispered in her mind. _You can't escape the truth, Danny. It'll always be there to haunt you. I hope you'll be glad to know, if the Legendaries do deem you evil and rip away every trace of humanity left in you, all the innocent Unown go to heaven. When your dreams, your hopes, your thoughts, anything that resembles intelligence has been ripped away, you'll be pure and innocent and everyone will love you. That'll be nice, won't it? Unown A just wants everyone to love her._

"You don't know anything," Danny said, her voice cracking with tears. "You're lying. It's all just lies. Damned lies…"

"Brian, I think it's time you stop," Sara said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "She's in tears, alright? You made her cry. You need to stop. Get control. It does no good to just have her broken and dead to the world. You want her to kill herself? You keep this up and you'll ruin absolutely everything for us," She hissed. "Ruin her, you'll ruin us. You'll ruin the world. You'll screw up everything! Bad day for human kind."

"What do you want?" Danny asked, looking up.

Brian and Sara turned to her, as if surprised she could speak. "What did you say?" Sara asked.

"What do you want from me?" She said, choking on her tears. "You don't want to ruin my plans. You're stopping her from making me feel even more like crap. What do you want? A cut of the power? I don't really think you need my help for that. You've got plenty of your own power. You know more than me. Just take what you want and go. I don't really care right now. You happy? You made me feel horrible."

"I made you feel like you made everyone else feel."

"Oh, I get it," Danny spat. "You're the bringers of karma. What next? Are you going to beat me with Secret Power? Throw me with psychic abilities? Cover me in orange paint?" She snorted. "Go ahead. Take revenge on everyone I've ever hurt. I think I'll die pretty fast. A human body can only take so much injury before breaking down. It can't heal itself like Unown can. Hell, it can only live about ninety years."

"Tha's not what we meant," Brian began, "But I'll be glad to hit you with every bad thing you've done. That power is a gift and you just threw it away! You wasted it on harming others! You're the spoiled one! You're the brat! You're the hypocrite here!"

"No, Brian. Danny, that's not what we're doing here. We're trying to get you human, Danny. Trying to make you realize everything humanity really is." Sara smoothed her hair. "There's sympathy, and that's what you should learn. Pity, charity, hope, love, that's what we want you to take out of this. That's what we want you to learn. My friend…he's learning what it is to be a good creature too. Don't pay too much mind to him."

"So that's what I was hurt to learn? That?" Danny asked, lowering her head back to the earth. "That's what all my fears were brought up for?"

"It's so much more than anything you could imagine. Danny, you're so set on destroying the world, but I promise you that you're going to end up saving it. Because of you, the world can be saved from some of the worst disasters ever. Disasters that need more than one Chosen One to handle. Do you understand how big that is? And you're going to be a part of it! Doesn't that make you feel good inside? Aren't you proud to be a part of something that big?"

"Being a part of something is just one step closer to being the mindless drone I've been _trying _to escape from."

"You can still be an individual and be a part of something!" Sara urged. "Especially if you're a part of something as big as this!"

"And how do you know all this is going to happen?" Danny inquired. "How do you know it's just not some kind of rumor? Where did you hear it, listening to the Legendaries. It's not a reliable source. They gossip all the time. You shouldn't trust anything you hear from them."

"No, I've _seen _it," Sara whispered.

"Seen it?"

"Well, I'm psychic, aren't I?" She giggled. "I saw it in my head. I looked into the future and I could see what was going on. I know who's going to do what and how it all turns out and, oh, it's like the most wonderful story I've ever read because it's not fake, it's real! Danny, oh, Danny you're going to be a part of it. You're going to make it happen. Witout you, nothing will work. You're the reason it all turns out right!"

"Am I? And what if I don't want to."

She smiled pityingly, "You can't fight your fate."

"I can try."

"But you'll fail."

"I fought my fate as being an Unown."

"Being an Unown wasn't your fate," She laughed. "It was more like…the prologue to a much bigger adventure. Just like this is. Everything's a prologue to something bigger than ever before, because time never ends. Everything's going to come out right, eventually. Everything's eventual." She sighed dreamily. "I love how everything just clicks into place, how it's all so planned and wonderful and perfect."

"Life isn't planned."

"You think you're so wise. Aren't you naïve," Sara laughed. "Everything is planned! Everything is in order, even the chaos! Everything you do and will do is perfectly planned. You really can't expect to fight your fate, can you?"

"I can make my own choice."

"It's your fate to make that choice."

"What if I choose no?"

"It's your fate to choose no."

"What if I choose yes?"

"It's your fate to choose yes."

"It can't be my fate to do both!"

"You can't do both."

"Touché," Danny agreed, sitting up. "So, since you've seen into the future. Tell me everything. How is all this going to unravel? How I my life going to turn out? What choices don't I have to make, since fate is the one to decide it? How exactly is this saving the world thing coming into play?" She grinned and brushed her hair out of her face, starting to laugh. "So, how does this whole crazy, wild story end, hmm?"

"I can't tell you that," Sara smiled.

"Well, of course you can't," Danny chuckled. "Silly me. What was I thinking?"

"Besides, I can't tell you how that grand story ends."

"Why?"

"Oh, Danny, I already told you why," She shook her head.

"I've forgotten already. It must be the Unown in me fighting to come out."

"Because, Danny, everything that's happened to you? This has all been just the prologue of a much, much grander adventure." She hugged her tight. "Danny, if I tried to tell you what's to come, we'd be here for days for me to give you every little detail! It's so fantastic Danny. One day you'll know. I promise it'll all be clear in the end. You've just got to be patient for a little while longer. Good things come to those who wait. Everything's eventual."

"Then I guess I'll wait and keep trying to take over the world," She laughed. "At least you're not trying to stop me. Maybe my fate is to finish the plan and be world leader. Maybe I'm going to make the world a better place by restoring the true order, where pokémon rule over people. Seems unlikely, but dreams come true every once in a while. So, can you tell me that? Can you tell me whether my dreams come true, you psychic weirdo?"

Sara smiled, looking up to the sky. "Huh, I think my mind's beginning to go again."

Danny rolled her eyes. "Typical."

"Come on, Brian. Let's go back to the cabana." She giggled. "My mind's barely here now."

"I can tell," He snorted.

The Brian and Sara began to walk away, minds slowly fading back to their childlike and insane states respectively. And, although Brian made an attempt to stop her, Sara manage to turn around, laughing with her arms thrown out wide. "Remember, Danny dear! The most important thing for you to know? All martyrs go to heaven! Tell Damian that too! Don't you ever forget that! Tell me what I said! Prove you didn't forget!"

"All martyrs go to heaven!" Danny called back.

Sara blinked, her eyes glazed slightly. "Okay, but what are you telling me for? Hey, Brian! Let's go milk a duck!" She said happily, clinging to him excitedly as they disappeared into the ever darkening woods.

Danny sighed and shook her head. "All martyrs go to heaven…"

* * *

Whether you call it levendar, purple or blue, press the 'Go' button and leave a review! 


	21. Chapter 21

-Very ticked off- If this chapter doesn't show up with page breaks, like my last chapters, I'm going to…ugh!

* * *

**Chapter 21**

Damian paced around the room, dark eyes flashing excitedly as he looked at every rack and crevice like a kid in a candy store. No surface went untouched, his hands skimming over anything he could find with unbridled curiosity. His amazement over everything, even squealing with delight when his finger was intruded by a splinter, astonished everyone in the room. The boy was certainly different, but, even though they had been told many times by Ash and Misty that he was a pokémon, a pokémon that had transformed but still a pokémon, that he really had never seen this before, the group of humans just couldn't get over his wonder.

He plopped himself merrily in the center of the room, pulling his legs up over one another in a meditation pose and nodded. This was a comfortable position. He rolled onto his back while keeping his legs still crossed. A few minutes of looking at the ceiling, then he rocked back up and beamed. "Well, I guess we could get started now if we really wanted. I thought May and Drew were down here though…Should we wait for them or should we just get started? I'm not exactly sure what I'm going to say, and if I don't know what I'm going to say I can't remember what I said and I can't repeat it to them."

Mrs. Ketchum approached him tentatively, crawling closer and sitting down in front of him. "Damian, honey, Ash and Misty have been talking to us about what's going on, but I can't really say I understand. All of this took a while to take in and…you have to remember that we're older and used to our ways and we…we haven't saved the world like my son has. We're not used to this strange stuff. If you could just take a moment and explain this to Professor Oak and Daisy and, well, that would be very nice of you." She took a deep breath in. "And, try to be simple with it. I didn't go to as many schools as the Professor did."

Damian grinned. "No problem! I can keep it simple! See, I'm a pokémon. I used my powers to turn into a human because there's a sorta, um," He tapped his chin as he searched for a word. "I guess you'd call her misunderstood. We'll call her evil. She's a pokémon in human shape too. I guess the easiest way to put it is that I'm a magical wizard with a care on his forehead and she is a scary snake man trying to kill everyone."

Mrs. Ketchum paled. "That girl is trying to kill everyone?"

"Oh no," Damian giggled, his head shaking so hard that his brain must have rattled. "She's just attempting to take over the world. She doesn't want to kill anyone! I'm just trying to make everything sound simple, like you asked. I'm not very good with words. It probably would be easier just to let those two explain it. Danny's good with words, but I don't know why. She's a better empath than I am and I'm a better mind reader than she is. See, it's kinda ironic if you think about it. She feels what other people feels, and she hardly likes to feel anything at all. I hear what people think, and I'm really, really bad with words!" He giggled again. "Isn't that funny? Uh-oh, I got off track again. I'm sorry. Are you going to hit me?"

"Of course not!" Mrs. Ketchum gasped. "I don't hit people." She chuckled. "Well, I haven't for a while anyway. Not since I gave up the traditional mallet all us human females carry around. I take it this evil creature you talk about hit you sometimes?"

"All the time," He agreed. "You don't have to worry though. I don't mind a blow to the head or two. It doesn't hurt too bad. It takes a lot more than that to hurt an Unown like me. I'm pretty strong. You know how us pokémon are. You're awfully fragile though. Not as frail as the Thinking Man over there, but you're still very frail. Can you explain to me something, since I already explained all this to you?" Damian asked hopefully, eyes flickering over to Daisy before looking back to Delia.

"Of course, honey," The woman smiled. "What do you want to know? I might not be able to explain it, but Professor Oak will help you if I can't."

"I always feel two different emotions coming off of her," He pointed to Daisy. "It's like there are two people, not that she's feeling two different things at once. What I don't understand is why I don't hear any more than one set of thoughts. There's just the big thoughts and then little feelings. I think it's coming from inside her stomach. Did she eat something before it died and now it's living inside her? How come I don't understand what it's thinking? I've never had that happen before."

Mrs. Ketchum giggled, sitting down across from him. "That's because she's pregnant, Damian. Did you just think she was fat?"

"Fat," He repeated. "Overweight. Insulting. I've heard that word plenty of times before. I don't know what 'pregnant' means though."

"When pokémon have babies, they have little eggs, you know that, don't you?" She asked. He nodded eagerly, bending forwarding anticipation. "Well, when humans have babies, we can't make hard, sturdy eggs for the little ones to grow in. We have to keep it safe somehow. So what humans do is they keep the baby inside them so it can grow strong. Then, when the baby is ready, it comes out."

"You _eat _your _babies_!" Damian gasped, hands clapped over his mouth in shock. "What do you do when they have to come back out again, throw them up? That's really scary! I don't know how you can sleep at night! I guess it's just because you're used to it or something. But how do you swallow a baby? I've seen the size of those babies! How do you get them out of your throat? You can't fit them through there! Do you have to cut them out?"

Mrs. Ketchum was bright red unsure how to explain exactly what 'pregnancy' was to the boy and how the babies came out. She wasn't comfortable with the situation but the rest of the room seemed fine and dandy in it. In fact they seemed better than okay as they were all laughing, rolling on the floor clinging to each other through their hysterics kind of uncontrollable laughter. It took them a while to finally calm down enough to lead Mrs. Ketchum away from Damian and give him a brief description of exactly what was going on with Daisy. Granted, there were a few blushes at the questions, but it was worth the laugh.

"So what's the plan?" Evan asked eagerly as they cooled down. "Are we going to have some massive fight? Just show me where to go! I'll fight anyone! I can take Danny down, no problem!" He put his fists up in his best fighting stance.

"I don't think we should use force," Damian shook his head. "I don't think we've got enough power behind us for that. I'd have to have a lot of people to compare to hers, even if imagination is more powerful than desire. We'll have to use our brains instead of force." He sighed. "It would be a lot easier if we could just use hand to hand combat. I could win for sure if I could just tackle her to the ground or something. I'm awfully big in this form."

"Is it just me, or is all of this just one giant riddle?" Misty groaned. Eyes turned to her, curious. "You know, like that one riddle, how do you get out of a room with no windows or doors? All you have in the room is a mirror." Only silence greeted her "Oh, come on! At least one of you have had to had heard this one before! It's the oldest riddle in the book! Ash, I've told you this one a million times! Don't tell me you forgot _again_!" She glared. He shrugged. "Ugh, no one knows the answer?"

"You move the mirror and there's an escape hole behind it?" Ash asked hopefully.

Misty rolled her eyes. "No! Dammit! You look in the mirror, you see what you saw, you take the saw, you saw the mirror in half, to halves make a whole, you climb out the hole. Make sense now?" She huffed. Everyone laughed a bit and nodded. "Thank you! It's like that! Everything has practically been to screw with our heads. We're turning against each other, forgetting what mattered to us, getting put into situations that are just plain _weird_…It's all a mind game. How do you take down a person who can control your every thought and emotion without any supernatural force, just trickery? All you have is the power of imagination and a bunch of sand."

"I've never heard that riddle before," Drew said calmly, his hand clasped in May's as they walked into the door. "Sounds like a hard one. I don't think you've got this one all memorized and ready to flow off the tip of your tongue?"

Misty sighed and shook her head no. "If only it were that simple. I like riddles. Those I'm good at. Playing with words, thinking in weird and logical ways." She moaned. "I just wish we could go back to the old days where our greatest worry was that if we didn't solve a riddle, someone couldn't compete for his badge. Why does it have to be so hard now? It's not like we've gotten any older, technically." She looked down at her body. "How old am I, anyway?"

"I'm fourteen," Ash shrugged. "You were never any good with numbers anyway. That's probably what's throwing you off. We'll just assume that you're fourteen too. Make it easier. So, Damian, I thought you said you had a plan. You haven't said anything. Let's get a move on, I'm ready to get this whole thing into action!" He grinned. "I've saved the world too many times already to give it all up now!"

"Erm, I'm not exactly sure. Give me a second to think. I know this…but I don't," Damian tapped his chin. "it was more of a really vague idea more than a plan, I guess. I just have to remember what it was. Maybe I should've written it down. That, or you guys should learn to be psychics. How fast do you think you could learn how to read someone's mind or be so good at empathy that you know exactly what I'm trying to tell you just by knowing how I feel?"

"Not fast enough," Misty muttered.

"Why don't we think of it as a riddle?" Lidia suggested suddenly. "Misty's good at riddles, and she can't be the only one. If we all think outside the box, we're bound to come up with some kind of answer. The crazier the idea, the better. Just throw out any suggestions you have, we can bounce ideas off of that, and maybe that'll turn into a plan." She looked at Evan. "We've gone through the brute force plan too many times though. Unless you get specific, I don't think you can suggest that one anymore."

"I know…"

"But this isn't a riddle!" Misty exclaimed. "I mean, this is our lives, my life! And…I know how selfish that is to say, but I don't want my life screwed up! All it takes is for us to wander over to her and have her change me back into a little kid! Two minutes alone and we could be back right where we started! The wilder our imaginations, the more _she _has to play off of and convert us! We can't beat her unless we use our imaginations, and if we use our imagination she'll beat us! It's a heads-I-win, tails-you-lose position!" She put her hands in her hair and dug her nails into her scalp with another groan.

"Good idea," Damian grinned, clapping his hands. "And you were just thinking about how stupid you were! Turns out you're not so stupid at all! We can use your idea and combine it with my idea," He wrinkled his nose, "if I can ever remember what my idea was, and I bet with that we can come up with an awesome plan to get Danny back in the box with me where she belongs so she can rule over the Unown like she's supposed to."

"Unown A rules over you?" Ann asked. "Is that how she got all the Unown to do what she wanted so easily?"

"She is our queen, but most of the Unown are pretty stupid and that's why they'll follow anything blindly. We're like those lemming things? Yeah, they jump off a cliff because their following their leader. The Unown are the same way. It's jut kinda…sadder because we should be smarter than that." He frowned. "I don't know why it's so hard to be smart as an Unown. Maybe we've got something wrong with our brains."

"I could always look at it," Oak suggested merrily.

Damian shook his head. "No thank you. I'd have to change back to an Unown to do that, and I don't want to take the chance of not being able to turn back. Besides, we really should be getting serious and talking about the plan." He stopped and giggled. "I can't believe I'm talking about getting serious. It's like a miracle! I never talk about anything serious. I just talk about fun stuff and inappropriate stuff, at least Danny says it's inappropriate, and ask to many questions for my own good that make people blush."

"I still don't know what my idea was," Misty shrugged. "I just gave a hopeless rant. Is that our plan? Give up and just let her win? I'm not always the most tenacious person in the world, but even I'm pretty sure we shouldn't just lay down and take what she's planning on doing to us." Ash snorted. "What are you thinking about over there? Did I say something that amused you? If you're going to make fun of me, I'm going to hurt you so bad you won't even know what hit you."

"No, you're talking about being that 'ten' word. That means stubborn. You're pretty stubborn, Misty," Ash snorted again. "I've never known you not to be stubborn. If you believed the sky was green I don't think anyone could change your mind."

Yeah, well you're one to talk," She shot back.

"I know I'm stubborn but I just meant that-"

"Guys!" Evan called. "Come on! Focus! We can't argue now! We were trying to get Damian to explain what all the ideas were! Don't you want to get out of here, or would you rather stay down here until this turns into your honeymoon spot."

"Ew, I don't want to go to a honeymoon here," Misty complained.

"But you don't mind going on a honeymoon with Ash?" Evan teased.

"Hey! I thought you were the one saying we have to focus! What happened to focus?" Misty shouted, balling up her fists.

"Okay, stop fighting!" Lidia snapped. "Misty's right, we need to focus. How about everyone takes a minute to calm down and we don't talk about whether or not Misty has a crush on Ash and we as Damian to think a little harder and tell us what he means." She turned to Damian. "Can you fill in all the blanks for us or at least try a little harder to remember your plan? What do you mean by thinking of it as a riddle?"

Damian shrugged. "Well, just what I said. Think of it as a riddle. Thinking about it regular won't work, and Misty said she was real good at riddles, so why not? I'll keep thinking about my plan but I really can't remember what it was." He sighed sadly. "This kind of thing hasn't happened since I was an Unown. Maybe I'm loosing my grip. Hey, you guys imagining something up might help me out. That's how I get my power."

"How much stuff do we have to imagine for you?" Ann asked helpfully.

"Oh, anything," Damian giggled. "As long as it's something it'll help. It doesn't take a lot to make power. Just imagine something , well, imaginative. You don't even have to want it to appear. You've just got to make something really interesting. That ought to make just enough for me to get back to normal again. But you're not supposed to want it or else you'll just be helping out Danny, that makes sense, doesn't it?"

"…Alright," Ann agreed, beginning to stare out into space.

Meanwhile, Misty was doing her own vacant stare into space. So, separate herself from the situation and start thinking like it was a word problem, a game, something fun that there was no real pressure on. If anything maybe thinking of it like that might take the stress off the situation. She was always good at riddles, but this one seemed especially difficult. Anything they used would practically be to Danny's advantage. Even if they used their imaginations, like Damian suggested Misty was sure it wouldn't be very long until Danny figured out how to steal and use it to her advantage. So anything they tried went into a counter attack, like Wobuffet. They tried to attack and it got shot back. Unfortunately, Danny was smarter than Team Rocket and there was nothing they could do to break through this kind of counter.

There was no play on words this time, though. No symbols, no relations, no tricky rhymes, just a problem. Her nose wrinkled and her eyes squeezed shut. If there was one thing she hated, it was problems. How was she supposed to find an answer for this? No matter of roundabout thinking was ever going to get her a right answer for this. This was the same freaking problem that gave her an F in math class. Who was ever going to need to know the quadratic formula in their life? How was that ever going to help her? Could she apply it to this situation? _No._ Well,_ that_ was a fantastic brainstorming session.

Her mind flashed back to the original question. How did you get out of a place with no way out, and anything you could (and would eventually be stolen and used against you? The obvious answer, she guessed, would be to do nothing. If you did nothing, nothing could be taken from you. On the flipside, if they did nothing, nothing would get done. So that plan really sucked. What else could they do? They could…she had nothing. No idea. How were they supposed to do anything when anything they did just helped their enemy? She had read war books before; she knew plenty about strategy, so why couldn't she think of some way to fix this?

She fell back from her happy sitting position and stared up at the straw roof of the cabana. Wasn't this the point where some higher power intervened? Wasn't this the part where everything suddenly became clear and the hero swept in to save her? Ash was in the same boat as her this time around, and, the biggest problem, this didn't come down to brute strength, it came down to thinking. Well. They were screwed in yet another aspect. Yay.

Then the two lovebirds barged in, giggling and laughing while Drew tried his best to frighten his love with a scary story, and failed miserably.

"Would you two put a can in it?" Ash snapped crossly, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm sick of this stupid love stuff! Stop making kissy-faces at one another and help us figure out this problem. You've been distracted this entire time with one another and it's starting to get on my nerves. Don't tell it's not bothering anyone else!" He looked around the room hopefully, looking for some kind of support from his friends.

"You're just jealous because you want to be like that with Misty," Evan teased.

"Would you stop saying that I like her!" Ash shouted, almost making a leap at the older boy. Misty grabbed his shoulder, staring straight ahead with a look of amazement on her face. "What now, Mist? Are you going to tell me you _want _to be like May and Drew?"

"Distracted," Misty repeated. "Holy crap, how could I not have figured this out before? It's perfect. We don't need to be more powerful. We just need to catch Danny off guard. She can't take everything we use against her if she's so busy with something else she's not even thinking of us. Ash, I don't know how we're going to do it, but if we can find a way to keep Danny distracted, we can win this. I can have Damian make us a door out of here or wish for this all to be over and back to the way it is and it'll work!" She grinned and tackled him to the ground in a hug. "We're finally going to get out of this mess!"

Evan opened his mouth to make another comment about Ash's cherry red face, but Lidia stopped him. "Let it go this time," She sighed. "If there's one thing we don't need anymore of it's arguing. I'm fed up with all of your screaming." Evan closed his mouth, looking a little disappointed that he couldn't make his joke, but the peace remained for a few seconds as everyone watched the oh-so-adorable Kodak moment.

"Misty…could you get off of me?" Ash asked from under her. "It's getting kinda hard to breathe."

"Oh, sorry Ash," she giggled, getting off of him with a blush. "I guess I got a little carried away. But we've finally got it! We can take down Danny with that, can't we? You think it will work, don't you Damian?" She looked at him with hopeful unblinking eyes. Damian gave a happy shrug. "Yes! We're going to get out of here, I'm going to be all grown up and I don't have to read your stupid diary anymore, which, by the way, wasn't a very good read. You really shouldn't be an author." Misty informed him, still barely able to contain her smile.

"I'll keep that in mind," Ash grinned back. He rubbed his hands together. "Alright, so we've got an idea. How are we going to distract Danny? Are we going to make something explode or have Misty talk about how she wants to come back to Danny because this place is so bad or maybe Pikachu can engage her in battle! What do you say, Pikapal? Do you want to give a good ol' thundershock on Danny?" He beamed.

(Now, I don't know if you were dropped on your head as a child or if you have some kind of mental disability, but I hope you realize that I'm not fighting a creature the could make my heart stop beating just by looking at me funny. Yes, yes, I'll fight for you, I'll die for you. I really do love you, Ash. You're the best friend a pokémon could have. However, I'm not exactly up for being a distraction. I will not be sacrificed so the rest of you can try a plan that _might _work. If you can try a plan that _will _work, I have no problem dieing. I'm not dieing for nothing. Does that seem fair to everyone?) The question was punctuated with sparkling cheeks.

"Okay, Misty, how are we going to distract them?" Drew grinned. "Apparently, you're not as stupid as everyone else around here. Give us all the little details of your plan and we can be out of here in no time." He nudged May's side. "I can take you to meet my parents and my psychotic sister. She's a little scary, but I'll be there to protect you." He hesitated. "And you won't be able to get in my house wearing that fashion catastrophe."

May gasped indignantly. "What's wrong with my outfit? I look fine, thank you very much. I was in one of those best dressed lists in a coordinating magazine! I'm dressed now like I was then! I couldn't possibly be ugly to your family if I've got magazines backing me up, right?"

"My family is pretty picky when it comes to fashion," Drew grinned. "Some random magazine giving you credit isn't enough. I think we're going to need a couple of best dressed lists in well known magazines before I can accept your clothes. Now, _I _love you just the way you are. My family just don't think anyone who dresses like you do could ever be good enough for their angel of a little boy." He made his best innocent face.

"Angel? Angel my butt! More like a fallen angel if anything! You're as evil as Unown A, I swear.' May crossed her arms and pouted for a moment, before turning bright red before the rest of the group. "Oh, er, I'm sorry. We were talking about something else, weren't we? I guess we got off course." She gestured to Drew and herself. "We've been doing that a lot lately. Don't mind us. We're just two crazy kids in love." She slunk down a little in her comfortable spot as if trying to turn invisible.

"Crazy kids in love…" Misty repeated, almost as if hypnotized. Her head cocked to the side. "That could be a plan. That could be a very good plan. What's more distracting than that? No one can keep focus. That's what brought on all of Beowulf, that whole love/lust thin. A Midsummer Night's Dream, that whole play just kept everyone distracted from seeing what they really needed to do. That's another example. Things don't always turn out right like they do in the movies, but most of the time they do. If we just follow that, there couldn't be anything that could go wrong. I could even help by wishing her to be distracted once she's already distracted and then problem practically takes care of itself."

"Can't we just wish ourselves out now?" Evan asked.

"No. She'll stop us," Damian shook his head.

"Can't we wish Danny would turn good?"

"She'll stop us."

"Wish for an exit?"

"She'll stop us."

"Wish she won't stop us?"

Damian rolled his eyes. "She'll choose not to grant the wish and stop us. She's got that kind of power now. She picks and chooses which wishes to grant, even the ones from Misty. There is no wish we can make to make the whole problem go away. Just go with what Misty has planned. She looks like she's onto something, the way she's muttering." Damian poked Misty's shoulder, drawing her out of her trance. "You look like you have an idea."

"I think I have an idea," Misty confirmed. "You and Danny, you said the you two used to be together? Like a boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"Mates," Damian nodded happily. "She's not too keen on that anymore." That statement was accompanied by a unhappy sigh.

"Okay Damian, now, this is very important. I need you to tell me why you and broke up, uh, stop being mates." She corrected herself at his baffled look. "And also…do you still want to be her mate, even if she doesn't want you to? I guess I can understand if that's too personal to answer. I know that I wouldn't, and a lot of other people wouldn't. I'm just thinking aloud, you know, since love seems to have distracted these two pretty well." She jerked a thumb at May and Drew. "And love gave my sister the biggest distraction of all. Pregnancy and kids. If that's not time consuming, I don't know what is."

"Would you shut up about it?" Daisy snapped. "I got it already! Teenage sex and pregnancy is bad!"

"Ew," Ash wrinkled his nose. "She said sex."

"So did you," Ann giggled. She smiled at Misty. "I think it's a great plan. In a way, we're even helping Danny. It's sort of like we're setting her up on a date, except while she's on a date, we're taking advantage of her distraction to ruin everything's she's worked for. Like when someone's sister is out on a date and a younger sibling goes through their stuff." Ann blushed. "Well, I guess it sounds pretty bad if we say it like that, but you all know what I mean."

"I want to be Danny's mate," Damian said sadly, bringing everyone's attention back to him. His voice was soft, his head was down, and once he brought his hand to his down turned face and rubbed at it, probably to wipe away tears. "I really, really want to. She's so angry at me. I don't remember what I did wrong. Sometimes…I think back to the last day where she was my mate…and I can almost grasp it sometimes. It's right there, and I almost have, I can almost think of it. Then…then it just fades back into nothing. I want to remember so bad! I'd make it better if I could remember like she does."

"Isn't it just like a woman to hold a grudge," Gary snorted, walking in the cabana. "I found these two little brats. They were wandering around outside and the girl is completely psychotic." He pulled the smaller one from the group, Sara, and whipped her in front of him. "Does anyone know where Natty is so I can send these two little rats away? I hate these little monsters." He glared at his grandfather. "I'm never having kids."

"Aw, Gary," Professor Oak teased. "You're not ready for a little one yet? You seem like the kind of kid who would be _great _with children."

"Shut up, Gramps," He snarled.

"Stop making fun of teenage pregnancies!" Daisy wailed, holding her stomach. "I got it already! I'm a fat, fat, ugly woman and I'm never having sex again! I'll never get my figure back and I'll have stretch marks and people will make fun of me and it's horrible! It's so stupid of me to do this and think anyone will ever love me again. I should kill myself!" She buried her head in her hands and started sobbing.

"See, that's the most distracting thing of all, but we don't have nine months to really get Danny emotional," Misty pointed. "Don't try to console her. It doesn't work when she's regular hormonal and I'm sure it's not going to work now that she's pregnant. Damian on the other hand…" Everyone turned to the sniffling boy. "Damian, is there anything we can do to make you feel better? I'm sorry I asked you that. I didn't know it would make you cry."

"It's not your fault." Damian smiled through his tears, wiping his face. "You just wanted to know if I could help distract her. Probably not, since she doesn't want to be my mate. She still likes me though, I think. She says she's not going to kill me when she takes over the world, that's a good thing. She doesn't love me anymore, so I don't think I can distract her will all that kissing stuff. She'll just slap me or something just as bad if I try." He rubbed his cheek as if remembering a painful blow. "I ought to watch out when she hits with her right hand. That one seems a lot stronger than her left."

"Not all hope is lost," Misty grinned. "Just because she hits you doesn't mean she doesn't like you. I've got an aunt, Charlotte-"

"Wait a second!" Ash said, poking her shoulder. "You're lying. You told me that you're aunt was named Margaret and the time before that she was named Sandy and the time before that it was Carla and you've had a bunch of aunts with different names!"

"My mother was one of _twelve._ My dad was one of nine. I've got nineteen aunts and uncles," She chuckled. "Trust me Ash, I'm not lying. I've just got a big family that's about to get bigger." Daisy gave an angry scream and more sobs. "And there goes the prego. Anywho, Damian, my aunt has a mental problem. We don't talk about it much, but it basically gives her violent tendencies. In fact, the only way she can express any emotion is to break something or hit something or whatever. The first few months she met her husband, this was before she got the medication, she beat him up all the time because she couldn't express that she was hurt from her last breakup and was now falling in love again."

Ash gawked. "What is _with _your family, Mist? Isn't your cousin Jeremy-"

"Bisexual, cross-dressing, thinks he's a hermaphrodite, slight passive aggressive disorder and has a bit of a drug problem," Misty shrugged. "He's getting better with the drug thing and the passive aggressive disorder is being dealt with in therapy. There's no problem with it. Now stop interrupting, I'm trying to make my point." She glared at him. He silenced himself. "Thank you. Now, what I was trying to get at is just because she acts like she hates you doesn't mean she actually hates you. She may be trying to cover up what she's really feeling. She doesn't express her emotions, well, at least she didn't with me, and she's violent."

"She's like you only with a god complex," Ash said cheerfully. Misty pounded his head with her fist.

"Would you shut up!" She exclaimed. "Damian, do you get what I mean? Do you think you could try? Maybe you guys could talk about what happened between you, figure out what exactly happened that she hates you?" She realized her mistake and scrambled to cover it up. "Er, that's not what I meant! I meant, uh, thinks she hates you but she doesn't really hate you and, uh…fiddle sticks and gum balls."

"Ugh," Daisy groaned. "I remember this. This was when Misty didn't want to swear and started using weird words to cover it up. Like fiddle wasn't supposed to be fiddle, but it was supposed to start with an s."

"I'm trying to keep good manners," Misty shrugged.

"Do you…" Damian began, then sighed. "Do you really think she'll listen if I try to talk to her? She never listens to anyone, and I don't think she's ready to listen to me."

"It's not like you did anything wrong," Lidia consoled. "She's mad at you for no reason. That's what you said, isn't it?"

He shook his head. "I don't remember what I did. I don't remember when I did it. I don't know if I told her or if she found it out something else. I just know that something happened and it was my fault. I feel guilty and I feel bad but at the same time…I feel mad at her. I hate her and I don't know why. I did something wrong, but I think that she did too." He groaned and grabbed his head. "It's no fair that she gets to remember and I can't!"

"Damian," Lidia gasped, kneeling down next to him. "Are you okay?" She put a hand to his arm, then was blown backwards as he shoved her to the side and leapt to his feet. She hit the wooden walls with a horrible sounding thump, her jaw clenching with pain.

"I'm sorry," Damian groaned, grabbing at his head again. He began to stumble out the door. "I need to go. I don't feel good. I…I'll distract her. I promise. Be ready at sundown tomorrow. You've got one day to get everything planned out. Make sure your dreams are good ones." He moaned again and pressed each hand to his temples, squeezing as hard as he could. "I'll be able to give you three, I think. Three is as much as I can handle."

"Three wishes by sundown," Evan nodded, the wave of concern passing as Lidia stood up, rubbing her back. "We got it."

Damian ran out the door and everyone was silent for a moment, looking back and forth with a few sighs escaping the masses.

"Well," Misty finally spoke up. "Three wishes. I only need one to get us out of here. Anybody have any other wishes they need granted? I'll be glad to make them."

Brian looked up slowly. "I have one. Wish that Sara and I could handle our psychic power in these forms. I know it seems like a strange thing to wish for, and it probably doesn't sound like anything coming from kids like us, but will you do it? It might make or break us. We've got more psychic power in the tips of our toes than that wannabe Sabrina has in her whole body. She's not as strong as she likes to think she is."

Sabrina looked up from a challenge, glaring into the sky and holding up her hands for a temporary halt in battle. "I sense a disturbance. Someone has insulted me." She looked back to her battle. "They will be vanquished later. It was probably just some rowdy trainer. Young trainer, if you give up now, I promise I will not pull down your pants and do a strange dance while your friends watch once I defeat you. I will allow you to challenge me later."

The blonde hair trainer exclaimed 'no' excitedly, and two minutes later, when his pokémon had fainted, his friends hid their eyes in horror at the pink heart boxer clad boy doing the weirdest dance they had ever seen.

"I am a great psychic."

"She has a problem with pants," Sara explained eagerly. "She keeps pulling people's pants down and making them do strange dances. I don't think she's sane." She shook her head sadly, as if this was the most tragic thing in the world and she couldn't imagine what it would be like. "Anyway, it's a good thing we can end her suffering by killing her with pineapple spines and leaves. Thank goodness for that."

"You two have psychic powers?" Ash snorted. "Okay. I believe you. Misty, you better not waste a wish on these two crazies. Why don't you wish for something useful, like a cheeseburger or a big screen TV? Oh! I know something good! Wish I was a pokémon master!"

Misty moaned in her hand. "Why did you do this to me, Arceus? Have I displeased you in some way? I thought I was a good person but you put me in a jail cell surrounded by a bunch of idiots! No, Ash! You're not getting one of the wishes to be a pokémon master! Just to spite you, yeah, I'm going to take them up on it! What should the final wish be, huh? What ideas does anyone have for the _only _wish they have left?"

"I bet Ash wishes you'd give him a kiss," Evan sniggered.

"I'm going to murder you!" Ash shouted, leaping at the older boy with a growl. Misty tackled him from the other side, trying to keep Ash from doing something he'd later regret, and the two ended up in a tussle of limbs, screams, and, later one, bruises and scratches from teeth and nails.

"Ash, Misty!" Delia scolded. "Stop this fighting right this minute! I'm disappointed in the two of you! Where are your manners! Ash! Ash! Ash Ketchum you stop fighting with that girl right now! You get off of her! I can't believe you're not listening to me! If you're not away form her by the count of three I'm going to-"

"Wait, Mrs. Ketchum," Daisy shouted. "I don't think it's Ash's fault. It's probably Misty's. She's pinning him down from what I can see. She does this all the time, don't worry. Your son is fine and I'm sure he's trying to listen to you. He'd let her go if she would let him." Daisy glared into the mess. "Misty Kasumi Waterflower stop biting his arm, let go of his wrists and leave that poor boy alone! He's not strong like you are! You've already won so why continue to beat him up?"

Misty sighed and released him, Ash scrambling away. "Y'never let me have any fun," She mumbled. "Daisy! I didn't bite through the skin or anything! You don't have to worry! We still don't have the final wish left. We should wish for something worthwhile as long as we have it. Why waste it?"

"The end of world hunger?" Gary suggested sarcastically. "If we all hold hands and close our eyes really tight and wish as hard as we can we can save the world! Oh, I knew all those after school specials weren't lying to me! After that, we can put our teeth under the pillow and see if tonight we'll finally be able to catch a glimpse of the tooth fairy! It's always been my dream to see the pixie that leaves quarters under my pillow."

"I got dollar bills," Ash countered.

"I got fives, my parents are rich," Gary snickered.

"No kid should get that much money for losing a tooth," Ash shook his head. "But we still don't have a wish. I'm with Misty, we can't just waste it. Does anyone have any kind of ideas? Seriously. Not Gary's sarcastic thing. Anyone?" Silence greeted him. "Oh, come on. It can't be that hard to come up with a wish! Everyone wants something! What do you want? If right now, you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

"To get out of here," Ann murmured. Everyone began to nod and agree.

"Is that the best we can do?" Ash snapped. "Come on! Wish upon a star or something!"

"We're not supposed to dream. We're supposed to wish," Brian pointed out calmly. "And this is Misty's story this time around. All the wishes, or dreams, that you've been talking about; they're for everyone." He smiled at Misty. "Instead of always doing things for everyone else, let this be a princess day. Anything you want. What do you want, Misty? When you go to bed at night, what do you dream about?"

"Bugs killing me and being a water master," Misty swallowed. She was beginning to sweat as all the eyes turned on her. She didn't want this to be about her! She was never in the spotlight! Couldn't someone focus it away from her? Ash and her older sisters were always the ones people were thinking of!

"You don't want bugs to kill you and you don't want to have that just handed to you, right?" Misty shook her head. "So, what else do you want?"

"Nothing else."

"You can lie," Sara shrugged. "Lie all you want. Work on getting the wording right on getting out of here and ending this whole mess. When you go to bed at night and you dream, keep it in mind. You know what you want. Just remember to get the wording right." Sara grinned. "Don't screw up or we're all screwed!" And with that, she collapsed into a fit of giggles, rolling on the floor with her crazy laughter.

So everyone tried to calm her, rushing forward and keeping her safe.

Misty, meanwhile, could only look down at the floor and mouth the one word, the thing to make her dream come true, the thing she wished she had more than anything else. It wasn't love. It wasn't money or power or anything like that. Things like that were something that should be worked for. They were things that felt good because you had gone through sweat and tears to get them. No, she wanted something else. Something she'd be trying for years to get but always seemed to fall short; because with just a bit of that special thing to tackle her biggest enemy, everything else would fall into place. The love, the money, the power and all the things.

Courage.

And if you can figure out what that means well…good. I was trying to be discreet so if anyone gets it you get a cyber cookie! Yeah…I've got no idea what that is. How about a handymanshipping oneshot? I've been wanting to write one of those…  
I'm in Florida on vacation! Woo! I also have two papers to write and may be a little slow on updates. Sorry!  
And thank you, everyone who reviewed! I love y'all so much! –hugs–

P.S.

I'm sorry to all Sabrina fans. I couldn't resist. I always found the little dance thing her family makes people do to be random.


	22. Chapter 22

If you like to watch pokemon anime, try 'Pisoga'.  
And go write me stories. Veet, veet. Pokeshipping, if you would. I'd love action and intricate plots, but others will do. Even oneshots. I need something to read and everyone updates so _slow_.  
Sorry for the lateness, my laptop died and I had to buy a new one.  
Oh, and to everyone I put in the story. Well, I know you're going to be disappointed, but everything change. –sighs- I had a different plan when it started, but, as usual, everything warped. You're still there and relatively important, but it's not a huge long thing. I'm sorry! I really am! If it's any consolation…I don't even know where the hell Natty went.**  
Chapter 22**

It was dark around him, not that he noticed. Lying meekly in the ground in a strange mixture of sand and dirt, he whimpered. His back glued to the ground, eyes wide open, knees pulled up to his chest, one hand twitched on the ground while the other pressed to his temple. His clothes were soaked from a quick dip in the ocean earlier, which had done nothing for the pain. Instead, everything clung to him, damp and sandy, in an almost nauseating feeling. Nothing was working to dull the pain. Under the canopy of wide leafed trees, Damian's back arched as he stifled anther scream of pain, this flash accompanied by dizzying white lights across his vision. He closed his eyes, but it did nothing for the spots.

He rolled to his stomach, pushing himself up with one hand, and staggered deeper into the woods. The edges of his vision blurred and cleared, only to blur once more. His breaths came deeper, ragged, almost asthmatic. Every movement _hurt _and he was _confused. _What had he done? Something was wrong. Something was very wrong with him. All of him. He needed to find Danny. Once he found her, everything would be better. Well, at least one she stopped yelling. She could fix anything.

"You don't look so good," Brian's voice purred behind him. Damian jumped, he hadn't heard him come up. "Maybe you should lay down, Damian. Wait for the pain to pass. Then you can keep going. Sara and I will watch over you while you rest. We'll get you up before sunset tomorrow. You'll have plenty of time to find Danny and distract her. Just lay back down, Damian, lay down and close your eyes. The pain will pass soon. As soon as you fall asleep, you won't feel a thing."

Damian spun, looking down at the boy. A smile, almost wicked, graced Brian's features. Damian didn't like it. He didn't like it at all. "I don't trust you," he whispered, stepping away. "I think you're lying. You look like a liar; a mean liar."

"Do I? I think _you _look like a liar, Damian," He chuckled. "I think you look like a very good liar. You act all innocent, everyone loves you. But should they? Are you bad inside? Weren't you the one who hurt Danny? If it wasn't for you, well, maybe none of this wouldn't have happened. Maybe you and Danny would be content together. Maybe you'd even have a bunch of little ones floating around. What a cute scene. Too bad you ruined it. Ruined it for you _and _Danny. I think that's a pretty bad thing. Maybe that's why you hurt."

"You're saying more lies," Damian whispered, his eyes widening in the dark.

"Am I? What happened between you and Danny?" He asked, stepping forward. Though Damian towered over him, Brian still managed to be an intimidating figure. As he walked towards him, Damian stumbled back, falling on the ground and staring up at him. He felt himself trembling. "Tell me, Unown B. What happened way back there in that little wooden box of yours? What happened Danny was away from you? Where were you hiding when you did that horrible, horrible thing."

"Nothing, nowhere."

"Damian," He chided, "Don't lie to someone like me. I promise you it's a fight you won't win."

Damian stared for a moment, then admitted, "I don't remember."

"Really?" He inquired. "See, I think you do. Not only that, I think you _know _what you did was wrong. You feel guilty, don't you Damian? You were selfish. You cheated. Good people never cheat, Damian. Good people always do the right thing. And when people are bad, they get punished. Maybe this headache is your punishment. Maybe you're going to die now, because you were such a bad boy. What do you think?" He grinned, malicious white teeth standing out in the dark. "Bad boy, Damian. What a bad boy you've been."

"I haven't done anything!" He cried. "I don't remember doing anything!" That line made him fumble. His eyes went to the ground and his other hand went up to his head. Maybe he did… "I don't…I don't think I do. Maybe I do remember something, but I don't think I…No! I don't! I don't remember anything bad because I haven't done anything bad and you're a horrible man and I hate you because you a liar!"

"Are you sure, Damian? Are you sure you're not a liar? You don't sound like you are. You sound awfully confused. You do remember something, don't you? How did you hurt her? You had to have done something to make her get away from you. I'm just wondering what it is. Let's share, Damian. I'm your friend. Tell me what you did to poor little Danny and maybe I can make it better for you. You need someone to make it better."

"You're not my friend," He whispered, and believed every word. This was not a boy to be trusted.

"No?" Brian asked. He shrugged to himself. "That's funny. Here I thought we were getting along just fine. I just want to help you Damian. What kind of person rejects help? I think you're hurting my feelings. You just can't seem o be a good person to everyone. Why are you so mean? You should be ashamed of yourself. I should tell A what a horrible person you are. What will she think of you? You and your lies, not even admitting you did such horrible things to her."

"I didn't do anything to Danny," He shook his head. His headache was getting worse. He hadn't thought it possible, but his head began to drum with a vengeance, each heartbeat sending a wave of fire through his brain. "Don't call her A."

"I can call her whatever I want," Brian retorted. "I'm a good person. I can call other good people what I want. You know that A," he chuckled, "Danny, I mean. She's a good girl. You don't deserve her. She ought to go with someone else. You can just go back to being a normal unown. You can even hang out with Unown E. That's what you wanted to do in the first place, wasn't it? Hang out with Unown E?"

"Unown E…" Damian repeated. His eyes shot wide. "Unown E! She…and I…but I didn't! It wasn't on purpose! It wasn't like I wanted her too! She did it, not me! How did A know about that anyway? She couldn't have! She wasn't anywhere around there!" He panted, shaking his head. "You're just lying to me again! I don't know how you found out about that, but I know that A wouldn't know and she wouldn't care, either! She would ask me and I would explain and everything would be fine with us! You don't know A like I do. She wouldn't get upset over something like that. There had to be something else. You don't know."

"You never told her? Another lie to add to your score. Shame on you, Danny's boy," He laughed. "I suppose you wouldn't know that reference. It's a pun. The saying is usually Danny boy. Maybe I shouldn't have used it. You're really not Danny's boy anymore, are you?"

"She still loves me. She's just hiding it."

"Aw, who told you that lie?" Brian shook his head. "That's a human thing to do. You and A aren't human. You can't hide your emotions. It's a miracle you _have _emotion. She doesn't love you and you don't love her. You just think you do." He smiled, and Damian felt his stomach churn. He didn't like the pity in that boy's gaze. "You can't really love, because you're not real creatures. You don't have souls or free will. You're just little sacs of flesh and psychic power. You really can't be a good boy or a bad boy, no matter how hard you try. When you die, you get nothing. If you don't have a soul, there's nothing to move on. There's no heaven, no hell, no purgatory. You just cease to exist. It's almost sad, in a way. I guess I pity you. Then again, I have to tell myself there's nothing to pity. It's as useless as pitying the death of a flower."

"I'm more than a flower!" Damian gasped. "I have a soul!" He hesitated after that, his figure slumping and his hands beginning to play in the dirt. His eyes flickered up to Brian's before falling back down, frightened of the huge figure. Then, more to himself than the short boy in front of him, "I've got to have a soul!"

"You don't 'got to have' anything. And what proof do you have?" Brian giggled. "How do you know you're not soulless? You can have a mind and still be soulless you know. Though, it seems like if this keeps up for much longer you won't have a mind either! At least, not a sane one for sure." He giggled harder, almost choking as he did. "If you-you're ah-out to impress me, wuh-why don't you give a little pruh-proof that you've got free will unlike the angels in that little glory place you're dreaming of? Tuh-tell me!" And he trailed off into hysterics, doubling over with laughter.

He opened and closed his mouth for a moment, thinking hard. His head was still slamming, his teeth still gritted together, but he forced himself through the throbbing. He wasn't stupid like this boy said. He wouldn't let him win. "I…I think! And I have feelings! I know the difference between right and wrong, well, I mostly do, but humans don't completely know either! And…and I feel bad when I do something wrong, because I know it's wrong and…I love A! That proves it!"

"Who told you that?" He snickered.

"Well…" He began, his voice as sharp as before, then he realized he didn't have an answer. There was no Danny to back him up. No Danny to defend him. No Danny to tell him what to do. He was so lost without her. He didn't know what to say. So he stared up at Brian, watching his mouth move and barely grasping the repeated question. Finally, though each word suddenly hurt his head a lot more than it seemed to before, he answered, "No one. I just thought and that's my answer, I guess…"

"Exactly," Brian laughed. "No one. You're just guessing. You're giving your personal opinion, nothing of real value, nothing of importance. Why don't you check your facts, kiddo? You'd be expelled from college for that one, if you ever went to college."

"But…my opinion could count."

"No it doesn't," He continued to snicker. "_Opinions _don't matter. No one cares about your _opinion_. No one wants to know what you _think_. We want to know the facts Damian. So stand up, boy. I want a five paragraph essay on it, double spaced, twelve point font and one inch margins all around. Print it on purple paper too, just because I love the color purple so much. Tell me exactly why you believe you have a soul and why you deserve to be let go. Tell me why you deserve to live, and to live a good life. No opinions, just straight facts. Hurry, we're pressed for time. I have a bed time of eleven."

"But.." Damian gawked. His mouth dropped open. "An…an essay? I don't even know how to write an essay! What's a paragraph and why do I need five of them? What do I write it on? I don't have any paper or a pencil or a computer or anything! What's a margin and font and…you're confusing me! Why can't I just tell you what I think? There's so many rules and I don't know how to spell things and I'm horrible with words-"

"No excuse. Write an essay. Hurry! We don't have all night, boy-o!" Brian laughed. "Well, I suppose that's just something else to chalk up. Can't think, can you boy? Can't think, can't distract Danny. You won't be a bit of a help to those kids you call your friends! I hope you're proud of yourself. It all comes back to your soul and your brain. No soul, no brain! Can't do a thing without either, so it looks like you're all out of luck! Completely screwed, kiddo! Everyone's going to hate you for it too!"

"No one's going to hate me," Damian murmured. "Why would they hate me? They just want me to try. If I try my hardest and fail, I'm sure they'll still like me. Who are you to judge, anyway? You don't know a thing about me! You don't know anything about me _or _my friends! And they are my friends! Lots of people like me! I don't know what you're thinking, but I'm pretty sure that you _are _the liar around here!"

"Didn't we already cover this?" He sniggered.

"No! Not the way I'm going to cover it!" Was it just his imagination, or was that pounding really fading from his mind? It sure seemed like his head didn't hurt as bad. Then again, it could just be all this emotion riding through him, blocking out everything else. It was an exhilarating feeling, anger. "It's not a lie, not the kind of lie that people hate you for! Not if I don't know what I mean! And…and I do have a soul! I don't care whether you believe it or not! I have other friends! I have Danny! I don't need everyone to love me, and I don't need you either! And you know what else? My opinion _does_ count. It really does! It's my feelings! I'm not saying that I'm right or you're wrong. I'm just stating, well, my opinion!"

"Alright, but why does you opinion count? What makes you so special? You smart?" He inquired. "I really haven't seen all that much proof."

"No, I'm not, but that doesn't mean it doesn't count!" Damian stomped his foot. He grinned. "I'm not going to bother with you. I can think for myself. As long as I believe in me and my friends and what I believe in, people like you don't matter! You can just go away and…and fuck yourself! I'm my own person! I'm self confident and I'm smart in my own way and I'm…I'm good hearted! That's one of the most important things in the world. People like that in a person, and the ones that don't I don't want to be friends with anyway. So guess what? You're really not my friend, and you _are _a liar! Get out of my face."

Brian grinned. "See, was that so hard? Welcome to humanity, boy-o."

Damian blinked. The boy was gone. How was that possible? The boy…he really was psychic. Shouldn't he have felt it? Psychic auras couldn't be hidden, could they? He'd never met anyone who could do it before, but he was learning an awful lot today. Maybe humans did have ways to hide their psychic powers. Maybe he should check that out in his human form. He could probably sneak up on Danny if he tried…

"Damian?" So he turned reflexively to his name, and there she was. Slack jawed, gasping, her appearance haggard. She smiled at him. _She smiled._ And then her arms were around him and she was clutching to him with shaking limbs. "Oh, Mew, Damian. You don't know the day I've had. We…I…I've learned a lot today. One of the biggest is never, ever mix liquor with a weak human form. Especially don't kiss a human, not a boy." She shut her eyes tight. "Not a man. Not a strong, drunk man."

He held her tight, and for the first time he'd ever seen she sobbed so hard her body shook. For the first time, he cried because someone else hurt. Neither one had ever felt so weak, so defenseless before. And, at the same time, neither had ever felt so whole.

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

"Sundown," Misty murmured, flickering her eyes to Ash then away. She laid close to him, a little loser than most friends would be, with her eyes up at the stars. "By sundown tomorrow. All the fun stuff seems to happen at sundown. Midnight too, I suppose. Wonder why it never happens at some other random specific time? Why is there never a prophecy that's set to happen at nine fifty four and thirty two seconds eastern standard time? You should make one of those prophecies, Ash."

"I'm not the prophet; I'm the hero, remember?" He grinned back. Unlike Misty, he didn't bother releasing his gaze form the blue eyed girl next to him. He kinda liked the way looking at her made him feel. Best of all, his heart was racing slightly. It was like he was about to be on a great adventure, with all his adrenaline pumping. But, then he was drawn back to the same loving, weird notions. Too many years with Misty had made a bit romantic out of him. A moonlit night, two people, a secret crush, a little too close for comfort; this was the part where he was supposed to lean over romantically and give her a kiss. Then she would kiss back and they would strip naked and have hot, passionate love on the roof. Though, he was pretty sure that was for kids who were a bit older than them. Plus, what would his mom think? And, the worst thing, the roof was made of straw and they might make a hole and fall down to the cabana below…naked…doing it…in front of everyone…bad night.

"I guess you're not," She grinned and laughed. "So, Sexy-Lover-Boy, how do you feel about this whole mess? You think that the plan is going to work? I sure hope is does. I'd love to get the H-E-double hokey sticks out of here. I bet this place is as hot as hell is."

"It's not hot now," He retorted. "It's cool at night. Once the sun goes away it's the best weather in the world. I love it here at night. I could stand it to be a little colder in the day, but I love it here at night. I love the wind, too. It's nice when we're up here. The sand doesn't come up this high." He sighed. "It's perfect out. These nights, this is why I travel. If I didn't like camping mom would send me to one of those fancy private schools. I'd journey to the gyms and get the badges by bus or something. Camping is way too nice to pass up though. Well, until it rains. But you still get good nights! That's what makes it worth it."

"Yeah, sure," Misty snorted. "Who doesn't love the camping? The bug bites, the cold, the wind, the rain, the snow, and not to mention when we set up the ten when it's storming and then the freaking thing collapses. Who doesn't adore nights like that? Yeah, Ash, I think that's why I stayed with you that line. It wasn't the bike or my love of watching you get pity badges so I could mock you for it later, it was those wonderful camping nights we had so often. Hmm, I just realized a good thing about this place: no bug bites."

"You know you liked it," He giggled, poking her side. "You adored camping. You would've set up that tent every night if you didn't mind sleeping under the stars. Remember what we used to do? When it was clear out, when we were out of the cramped, horrible towns. You, me, Brock. We stayed up for hours playing connects the dots with the stars. Brock was the only one who actually knew what was a constellation and what wasn't. You had to love the laser pointer."

"Who _doesn't _love a purple laser pointer?" She giggled. "With a pink handle and gold lettering on it. I can't believe his little sister actually got him a laser pointer like that for his birthday. I still think she was hoping he'd give it to her once she opened it up."

"I wouldn't be surprised. You know how big families are. All take, no give," He laughed. "Aw, come on. You know it's not true. Brock's little sister just didn't get the differences between girls and guys yet. She just knew that Brock like stars and she thought that the laser pointer was pretty. Not every family is as competitive as yours, you know." He nudged her, and she finally tore her eyes away from the stars to grin at him. His stomach churned and heart stopped for a moment. "Sexy-Lover-Girl."

She laughed. "Oh, man. It's just plain weird when you say it. I've been to high school. That's where people go crazy. So, you know what? I'm allowed to be weird. You're not. You can't use any words like 'sexy' or 'lover' or 'rabid wild animal cracker monkeys' or anything! You just have to stick to the normal lingo. Sorry you're stuck with all the boring stuff. You should've quit your journey and come to my all girls Catholic high school. You would've loved it there. You could've worn a plaid skirt all day with a blouse and a tie and…well, you'd look absolutely stunning in one of those outfits. I might have dated you if you were in something like that."

"Oh, ha. A guy crossdresses once and suddenly you can mock him for life."

"You crossdressed _three _times," Misty pointed out.

The giggled for a while, then dropped into a comfortable silence. They didn't need to talk to be happy. They could be quiet. They could mildly point out that a group of stars looked like a happy face or a yin/yang or a dragon or, the most random, a condom wrapper (which set them off laughing again). Then they wouldn't speak. They'd stare at the stars and Misty would think and dream. Ash would try to calm his raging hormones or go to his "empty space" which was the part in his mind consisting of absolutely nothing. This, of course, is a task only men could accomplish, and that was the only thing that kept Misty's thoughts from being as quiet as his.

But, the silence wasn't ruined until much later that night when the call of Professor Oak brought them inside for the night. Other than that, nothing disturbed the quiet. The sound of lapping waves and rustling trees from the forest behind. Once, the sound of rustling straw as Ash scooted shoulder to shoulder with her and brought his hand down on top of hers. When she looked at him, he grinned and looked up at the stars, but they remained quiet. Things didn't need to be spoken. Neither one was too good with words like that. They let their actions speak for them in the dead of the night.

That was probably for the best, considering half the people inside were straining their ears from the cabana below, trying to figure out why they had heard the word 'condom wrapper' out of Ash's mouth and why it had made Misty giggle so.

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

Damian sighed and rolled his head back, appreciating the good nap. Afternoon. There was probably only a few minutes until sunset, but he wasn't thinking too much about the sunset. It was a good dream, a bad dream, technically, but it was a good dream since it seems like he was an awfully bad boy now. He apologized to the sleeping Danny, even though he hadn't actually done anything to her, and then he shook her awake. It was the morning of his betrayal. She'd hate him by the end of the day, so he might as well enjoy her loving company as long as he could. "Danny, wake up. We can go do something fun."

"We could," Danny said, opening her eyes at him sleepily. "But why do we have to go somewhere to do something fun? We an have fun righ there. Anything from a thumb war to wrestling. There are all kinds of things we can do as humans. Much better than being unown. I don't think I ever want to go back to being one of them. Let's go back to sleep, Damian. I've never had so many dreams in one night before. Some of them were so _strange_."

"I had dreams too," Damian grinned. "Do you think we could dream if we didn't have souls?"

"I don't think we could live without souls. Nothing can live without a soul, can it?" She asked, beginning to sit up. A small part of her was displeased, knowing that she'd never get back to her nap by now. She didn't bring that up, though. No point in ruining the mood. "You're asking a big question. No one really knows the answer to that. You're dabbling in spiritual things. In spiritual stuff, there can only be opinions, no truth."

"But religions say-"

"Don't go in to the topic of religion," She shook her head. "That's dangerous territory for people who have been humans for decades, let alone us. We've probably been _really _human for, what? A day, two at most? Maybe we should wait a little while longer before we start to tackle these questions. We've got plenty of time to live. What do you say we have a tussle or something? I can't sleep, Damian, and I'm not building a sand castle. Hey, we could even watch the sunset. It's coming soon."

His heart stopped. Anything to prevent sunset from coming. Arceus, how he wished that was something he could stop. "How do you feel?" He asked quickly. "I mean, how do you feel about us? Do you think there's things we need to talk about? We used to be mates, and something happened. That was when we were unown but we should talk about it now, right now, and we should fix everything that was ever wrong between us. We need to make all the bad things better. Please say you're with me on this one, Danny! I want to get this all over with before sunset, please! Tell me what I did and I'll fix it."

"What?" She blinked. "Damian I…I don't think I can even remember."

"Lying!" He gasped. "You're lying and we barely have any time! We don't have time for lies, just truth! Danny, all lies do is waste time, delay things, and we can't delay anything any longer because sunset it almost here! Do you get that? You need to tell me what I did! Mew! I want to make this all better before sunset. I want a clean slate so I can screw it all up again for everything I'll ever do to you as a human. Tell me what I did."

She gawked at him. "What's so bad about sunset?"

"No more questions! Just answers! Tell me! Dear Mew, what do I have to do to get you to tell me the right things? What do I have to do to get you to teach me how to make things better? Let's get rid of every last trace of our old lives. Nothing but our names and our feelings. You're A, I'm B, but before that we're Danny and Damian. Let's get rid of the mistake I made. I know it had something to do with Unown E, but I can't remember what for the life of me! I just remember you colored her orange and it was really freaky and she just couldn't figure out how to wash it off and…ugh! You're getting me sidetracked!"

"You seem to be doing all the sidetracking yourself," Danny said smoothly. "As for what you did. You cheated. You pressed yourself to Unown E. I don't know why you did it. I don't know how you could've done it. I don't know why it happened at the worst moment ever. You left me just after my parents did and I had the weight of a world put on my shoulders. How can I forgive and forgive that in just a moment?"

"The kiss…" He blinked. "No! I didn't mean that! She pressed against me, not the other way around! I got her off of me the second I could! I didn't want it! That's like a person getting stabbed and you saying that it was all their fault! As if they provoked it! I was practically raped, Danny! It wasn't on purpose! I mean…cheese and crackers, Danny! How can you blame me for something like that? I'm sorry that had to happen. But I didn't mean it!"

"And you expect me to let it go, just like that?" She snorted.

Damian nodded, "Yes."

"Are you insane? Why would I do that?"

"Because we're _human_," Damian whispered desperately. "If nothing else, we're creatures half in the chaos and half in the good, no matter what religion or philosophy you look at. Bad things happen to us, and good things happen to us. What it comes down to is the intention behind the action. The action wasn't mine. My intentions have always been for you! I sound like a hopeless romantic and, Mew, I can't believe I'm talking so well," he blinked at this. "Ever since the headache went everything's so much clearer. I know what I want and it's not just to please everyone. But I do want to please you."

"The sun's going down," Danny remarked calmly. "It's just about sunset."

"I can see that," Damian agreed. "Is all forgiven, Danny? Am I back in your good favor? Even if I have to work really hard to be your mate again, if you'll ever let me be your mate again, I'll do it. I'm still…I'm still in love with you. I always will be. If you don't believe anything else I say, even if you believe I cheated on you and that I don't regret what happened, believe that." He shook his head, feeling his throat close up. "I love you so, so much."

Danny looked at him, face expressionless. Some girls would look angry, some apologetic, some sad, and some would look overjoyed. Danny just leaned forward and kissed him, not arguing when he threw himself into the kiss and her onto the ground.

It was only a few seconds later, when he felt the first dream begin to tear his power away that he realized that, although not what he planned, this was the perfect distraction and, after everything they'd been through, it only seemed right that a 'kiss' would break them up. He just hoped that his honest confession and their newfound power of compassion would somehow let her look past it. Until then, he kept a third of his focus on his powers, and the rest on the entirely human feeling of ten fingers across his arms and two lips pushed to his. Passion had never tasted so sweet in any other form.

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

Meanwhile, everyone else was eyeing the sunset falling beyond the horizon. Well, almost falling. They didn't think it counted since the sun was still rounded in the sky. Not quite turning the sky red, but it caused a slight orange tinge was starting to hit the thin layer of clouds. Everyone was on the straw roof, surprised that it wasn't collapsing under their weight (it took a long time to convince a few people (especially May)) that the roof would not fall apart under the pounds of one extra person. Fortunately, it didn't and everyone sighed at the almost bittersweet feelings of knowing that, at any moment, they would be cast out of the horrible paradise they were in.

"We're going to see each other again, won't we?" May asked. "I've grown to like all you guys over the, what, week that I've known you? I've got my 'nav on me. You guys want to program your numbers in it?" She pulled out the device and shook it at them. It was snatched from her hands and then _everyone_'s 'navs were out, passing around the group of friends were hands moved furiously to write their own numbers in.

That is, everyone but Ash and Misty. Sitting a bit away from the others, Ash listened to his red haired companion. Her hands knotted in toil, nails digging into the back of her hands so hard Ash was thankful they were bitten and filed down too soft to break through her skin. "It's just…I don't know. If I tell you you're going to freak out, Ash. You always freak out. You already hate the unown you're just going to tell me how crazy I am!" She looked at him from the corner of her eye, then scooted closer. "Listen Ash, I'll…I'll tell you what I'm thinking but you have to promise to hear me out this time. You have to promise not to say a single word until I tell you you're allowed to speak or I'll just shut up and start talking to myself and you _know _how I get when I'm left to simmer with my own feelings," She warned, pointing an angry finger at him.

"Deal," Ash agreed. "My lips are sealed until you say otherwise."

"Great," She grinned. "Well, first of all, I have to say that your clothes annoy the heck out of me. They're a disaster, Ash, don't you ever clean them or iron them or anything? I thought Brock used to do that for you. Did you make him stop? Not just that but you seriously need to consider taking a both once in a while. I wish myself up a shower down here, but you never do and you smell disgusting. And, the final thing about you, you're fudging annoying." She smacked his shoulder and glared. "Stop being so annoying all the time! Just be…normal or something every once in a while! Enough with the puns, alright?"

"Alright, man…"

"I didn't say you could talk," She retorted, laughing, then sighed. "Okay, I'm going off topic again because I don't want to talk about it. That's a bad thing. I shouldn't do that. I need to let you know what's going on. Ash, what I'm about to tell you is totally serious and borderline crazy." She leaned forward, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I don't remember how I met Unown A or Danny or whoever and I don't remember being with her but what I do know is that I have this…connection with her. I…I'm not exactly sure what it is but I feel like doing this the way we're doing this…so, you know, deceitfully. It feels like I'm tricking a friend. I don't know if I can do that Ash! I don't know if I can take the guilt! I mean, I can handle doing horrible things to myself, but I don't know how to handle doing things to my friends."

"Misty," He sighed. "You feel like she's…a friend? I mean, she's a friend like you and me are friends?" She nodded eagerly. "Do you know why?"

"I didn't say you could talk, but I don't know, Ash," She whimpered. "I…I can't remember it at all! I think it has to do with me being little with Unown A and…I don't know Ash. It feels like I owe her something. I don't know what I owe her, but I owe her something. Don't you think it's wrong that…even if what she did was wrong…that we just rip away absolutely everything she's worked for while Damian's distracting her. Not just that, but how's he distracting her? What if he, like, pretends he's in love with her or something? Do you know how bad I would feel if someone pretended to love me just to…to use me?" She looked at him for a minute, and he stared at her. His lips pressed together in a tight line, his eyes were wide, and a small noise was coming from the back of his throat. "Oh, Mew, Ash, you retard. You can talk now!"

"I would never let anyone use you! You don't have to worry about that Misty! We're friends to the end! You don't need to worry about something like that. Maybe the only reason Danny doesn't have anyone is because she doesn't deserve it. She didn't make any friends so she doesn't have anyone to keep her from doing bad things! I mean, look at Jessie, James and Meowth! They're pretty bad but they all have friends, don't they? How much worse does Danny have to be to not have a single friend in the world."

"What do you mean no friends?" Misty snapped. "She's got Damian!"

"Right, and he says he loves her so the whole problem is solved! He's not using her! Besides that, I don't even think he knows _how _to use a person! He wants to be her mate. He loves her. It's all okay. Remember how he cried when you talked to him about Danny last night? He's an emotional, sensitive sweet guy so even if you are scared of Danny getting used there's no way it could happen. You don't need to worry about it."

"But…but what if it was…" She gulped and turned away from him. "Different? What if I wasn't talking about Damian and Danny, but two people were a whole lot like them. And what if…what if neither the person who was a lot like Damian or the girl who was a lot like Danny knew if they liked each other in that way? Both of them are the same but…but still different and it seems like since they've got so much in common and so much different that they'd be perfect for each other. But, still, they act like they hate each other and it's rare that they even have close, awkward friendship moments. What would happen then?"

"I guess, well, they ought to talk to one another," Ash shrugged. "Talking things out is the best way to go, isn't it? That's what my mom says at least. But I think that's just because she wanted a girl and I came out a boy. Did you know that mom thought I was a girl right until I came out? I was supposed to be Ashley. Now I'm Ash. It's kind of funny. That was my crossdressing name, remember that?" he laughed. "Weird, isn't it? It's like my past came back to haunt me or something."

"I didn't need to know that," Misty muttered, rubbing her temples. "I mean, I _really _didn't need to know that. You're so fricking weird. Not to mention that you've gone way off topic! Besides, these people aren't exactly good at talking things out. In fact, the guy is absolutely horrible with words and the girl is practically a ball of uncontrollable rage and anger. She can't express her emotions at all." She blinked. "Er, even though they really should get their emotions out in the open. I'm all for that. This is all just a hypothetical thing. I heard that Violet is working on a story with characters a lot like that so I was trying to get advice."

Ash eyed her carefully. "You know, even though you somehow toss a lot of stuff over my head, I can tell when you're lying every once in a while. It's pretty obvious you're lying now. So who're you talking about? It's not just some characters in Violet's stories. Tell me."

"I can't tell you," Misty rolled her eyes. "You don't know them so I couldn't possible tell you what's going on. Why do their names even matter? Let's call them Bob and Jill. Better yet, let's call them Jack and Jill! Perfect names! Let's keep talking about Jack and Jill, who, last time I remember, were heading up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Then, of course that great tragedy of Jack falling down and breaking his fat head open and Jill fell on her ass after him neither had health insurance and it was an absolute mess at the hospital. Thankfully, the parents had a lot of money. How else would they have a property big enough to dig and have a well all to themselves? So, that's who's relationship we're talking about. What do you think they did on the hill that made them both fall down? I think it's some kind of scandal, don't you?"

"Oh, and _I'm _weird?" Ash snorted. "Yeah, because never in my life have I ever heard 'Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke his crown and Jill came tumbling after.' I'm not stupid, Misty. And if you're talking about people I don't know, why can't you tell me? I don't know them! Tell the truth, Misty. I promise I won't laugh if it's someone we know. Well, I'll try not to laugh but I can't promise anything if it's someone weird. Oh, I'll only be grossed out a little if you have a crush on Tracey."

"Ew!" She squealed. "Tracey? How could you think I've got a crush on Tracey! That's as bad as Brock! They're like brothers, Ash! You're completely crazy! You're so gross. I ought to push you off the freaking roof. You're so gross." Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head at him, shoving his shoulder lightly. "Don't talk to me anymore. It's over. I'm done here. It's almost sunset. Everyone has to start dreaming so I can make the wishes or whatever they're called. Rally the troops!"

Ash hesitated. "But…Misty, if it is about you…well, if it's about us, we should talk about it. Like you said, it's not healthy to keep all that stuff bottled up inside." He put his hand over hers. "Mist if…if you want to talk about something. Even if it's got to do with some random guy I've never met or one of those million boyfriends you're going through all the time, I guess I'll be here to try my best to talk with you." He smiled. "You want to say anything before the sun sets?"

"I…" She stared at him for a moment, then shook her head, withdrawing her hand. "You know what, Ash? I think I'll be fine. We can talk about it whenever. The second we get out of here, we can start talking about all the important stuff."

Ash agreed quietly, but his mouth was clenched in a tight line. She was lying _again._ She didn't trust him. That wasn't fair in the least. He was the one who had spent time with her when she needed it. He made her feel better when she was down. So they argued every once in a while. It wasn't as if they were real arguments, and they definitely weren't bad enough to break any trust she could have had in him.

"Ash, would you shut up? I hear you muttering under your breath! I can't make wishes if you're distracting me! Haven't you ever seen a Disney movie? Man! All I need is a freaking orchestra to back me up and I'm Cinderella. Better yet, go to Roger's And Hammerstein's Cinderella and I can be Brandy." She blew her hair out of her face. And for a moment, she concentrated, her brows close together her face in a scowl. "Something's wrong."

"What do you mean?" May asked. "Like, 'you forgot what to wish for' something's wrong or 'Damian was slaughtered by Danny' something's wrong?"

"As in Danny's not the only one who's getting distracted around here. There's something up with Damian. Whatever he's doing, he's not really concentrating on us. I guess he changed his mind or something. It wouldn't be the first time he's flip flopped. He's been pretty confused lately. Ash, I need some kind of help. Go get the others to help me out." She waved him off.

"But Misty," He whined. "How come you can't make the wishes yourself? I'm sure Damian's paying attention to you and if he's not he's probably dead so what does it matter?"

"Ash_ton_," She growled.

And he whined, but nevertheless, he made his way back over to the others and prompted them to start imagining. "Misty needs all the help she can get, you guys. So, close your eyes and start dreaming, would ya? I want to get out of this stupid place!" Ash stomped his foot, which, of course, went through the roof and forced him to land flat on his face. The others giggled at him. "Alright, shut up. Could you just start dreaming now?"

"What are we supposed to think about?" Ann asked. "The wishes?"

"No," Ash shook his head. "You've just got to think about anything you can. It doesn't really have to be about anything. You guys said you were authors."

"On fanfiction," Lidia explained. "We're not actually published."

"Well, you've got to have some kind of good ideas!" Ash insisted. "Don't you guys have any ideas for stories? Think about those! If it helps you could wish up a notebook and some pencils if you want. Hey, imagine up a laptop if you have to! As long as it makes you think!"

"We can't," Evan blinked. He looked at his empty hands. "I think Danny's distracted now, because I just tried to wish for one. I didn't get a thing. If we're going to start making wishes we better do it now. I don't know what he's doing, but let's take advantage of it."

The others nodded, and Ash attempted to pull his foot out of the straw. Giving up a few seconds later he shouted, "Misty, make the wishes! Danny's distracted and if you mess this up we're all going to hate you forever!" And with a violent tug on 'forever' Ash managed to rip his foot out of the straw. "Ha! I knew I could do it! Sweet victory is mine! Take that, roof!" He stomped on it again and, lo and behold, he was trapped in the straw again. "Dammit. I hate straw."

"Will you shut the frick up?" She snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate! I can't do this if you're making an idiot out of yourself all day long!" She glared over at him, shooting a rude gesture in his direction. "Stop stomping! You put your foot through the roof every time you idiot! How strong do you think a roof made of _straw _is! Mew, I hate you so freaking much!" She slammed her hands down next to her on the roof.

Ash yanked his foot out, sighing and raced over to her, sitting very close. "I know you're scared. You don't need to yell at me because you are. It's fine. Just know that…even if you screw up and we're stuck here forever…no one is going to blame you as long as you tried. It's the effort that counts! We all believe in you. And you know what? If you screw up, we'll just blame it on Drew because no one really likes him all that much anyway." The two grinned. "See? I can make you laugh still. That means we're not screwed. Just, like Peter Pan, think happy thoughts and do good things and there's no way you could screw it up in the end."

"But that's _you_, Ash," Misty whispered. "You're the one who doesn't screw anything up! You're the hero! Nothing ever goes wrong for you! At least, nothing when you've got someone else's life in your hands. What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you? Lost a pokemon battle? I can't feel the same way! I didn't exactly have the best childhood…as you saw. It's not easy for me to have blind faith. Just because everything, somehow," she laughed a bit at that, "seems to go right for you, it doesn't for me. I don't have your kind of luck, Ash! I wish I did! Can't I…maybe I could use my last wish so you make the wishes?"

"It has to be you," He shook his head. He put his hand over hers. "I guess, it's your turn now. It's a lot girlier story. But, you're a girl, so that sorta makes sense, doesn't it? There's not a lot of fighting but…that's the challenge, right? I have to use my fists even though I always use my heart, and you've got to think with your feelings instead of your head. But…" He grinned. "I'm here, Mist. My luck will rub off on you."

"Ash," She shook her head with a laugh.

"Shut up, Mist," He encouraged. "Close your eyes and dream up something good. I'll be right here beside you the whole time." His hand tightened over hers, and they closed their eyes.

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

**Sorry! This wasn't supposed to end here, but as explained above, I've been having a LOT of junk happening lately! I wanted this chapter to be longer but…oh well. It'll just be broken down into two chapters.**


	23. Chapter 23

**Don't worry, those who read and care, this is NOT THE LAST CHAPTER!**

**Chapter 23**

For a second there was nothing but the dim tingle of the boy's hand in hers. Clammy, but somehow warm and comforting; a feeling she had become dependant on over the years. Misty waited a moment, letting her body relax and ease into an almost dreamlike state. It was not long before she was so out of body that even the wonderful shock of Ash's thumb gently stroking the back of her hand could bring her back. She let her hand twitch in his and grab it tighter, smiling slightly at his jump. He never could completely relax, and love stuff made his twitchiness worse. Maybe the boy wouldn't be so clumsy if he wasn't so nervous all the time…but she was letting her mind wander from the important stuff.

What to wish for?

Well, that was stupid, she knew what she was going to wish for. It just seemed the order was the complicated. She supposed that the first thing to get out of the way should have been to make sure that Danny was out of power, and never could return to her power again. Yet, it no longer seemed like the right thing to do. Instead, she was leading much more towards Sara and Brian's wish. She rebelled against the urge for a moment, then let it fade. Ash knew what he was talking about, didn't he? She would not question her instincts. If that was the right order for wishes, so said her gut, then he brain would just have to shut up for once and let her gut do the talking. This might be more challenging than one would have guessed.

_I wish Sara and Brian could…completely control their powers in their current form._ She thought, but that was wrong. She shook her insubstantial head (because her real one was too relaxed to bother). She was thinking, dammit. How did people go around listening to that stupid emotional voice inside them? Damn feelings never brought anything but trouble. But, she trusted Ash, for reasons as logical as she could comprehend, and so tried again. This time she imagined a little Sara and Brian using sparkling magic all throughout the world, Sara's mental disorder craziness fading away so she would be the happy girl she obviously was underneath the craziness. And, though it seemed stupid, it _did _feel awfully right.

She clutched Ash's hand tighter, a little rush of joy coming from it. It _was _nice to let herself go for a moment. It was nice to stop thinking about whether this would be right in Ash's eyes, what were the social limits, if her mother would be okay with her doing this or would she go into a 'slut' category. It felt even nicer when she let her hope spike at a little squeeze back from the master himself.

_One wish down, two to go. And, since I'm still not all to sure what my last wish is, there's only one to choose from, isn't there? So how am I supposed to show a not-too-pissed Danny losing all her might and power in one mighty blow from a red headed, flat chested scrawny runt of a girl? I don't have _that _good of an imagination! At least, I'm pretty sure I don't…This is so much more of an "Ash Task". _He _has one heck of an imagination._ She bit her lip for a moment. Dreaming was hard.

But, it came to her in an unexpected way. Danny and Damian…kissing, smiling, happy. When? Well, she wasn't sure. Maybe a week from now, maybe a month, but Danny had definitely lost any power she had before. No, not the power. She still had the power. Of course she did…What's an Unown without a wish granting power? She just didn't need it anymore. She was happy. The thing that had driven her over the edge so long ago was fixed. The reasons for taking over the world were gone. Every problem was solved, and not just for a year or two either, because, as far as she knew, pokemon mated for life.

And now…these didn't seem all too much like wishes, not even dreams. They just seemed like…truths. Which was strange. She hadn't seen these things before, at least she was pretty sure she hadn't, but how could she so _surely _know that what she was seeing already existed, or even _was _happening if she'd never been told, never been _shown _before?

The answer was simple: Seeing isn't believing, believing is seeing.

So, she guessed the only logical question was: What do I believe in?

And, as it turned out, she believed in quite a lot of things. She believed in a god, a heaven, a hell, an afterlife. She believed in man eating bugs, that every adventure she went on would inevitably lead to her death, that there would always be another prophecy. She believed in Ash Ketchum. She believed he would save the world. She believed he could make anyone fall in love with him. She believed he was everything she wasn't. She believed she was everything he wasn't. She believed they were two sides of the same coin, two peas in a pod, two turtledoves, two dreamers, two weirdos, two nerds. And, most importantly, she believed their relationship had too many lies, deceptions, and outside help for her to have another one.

She did not wish, or dream, for the amazing bravery to one day come face to face with Ash and tell him exactly how she felt.

She wished for something useful, believed in something that had been so engrained in every person's mind that no one even spared a thought to worry of it.

She wished for the twin's health.

And she believed it would come.

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

"I'm sorry," He whispered breathlessly, pulling away form her with a whimper. "Oh, Arceus and Mew, _fuck_, sorry. I can't believe what I just did to you. I can't believe what I've done. I'm a bad boy. I've always been such a bad boy. Always doing something wrong and I just let it happen again after all those false promises. I wanted this so bad…when it finally came I didn't give it up and I even knew it meant hurting you. I'm sorry. I don't expect any forgiveness this time."

"You're no bad boy, sweet angel," Danny sighed, from her spot, looking as if she had just finished a wild round of lovemaking instead of the simple French kiss they had been enjoying so well a moment before. "No need to worry there. Never done a single bad thing on purpose, not really on purpose. You're too innocent for that, sweetling. Stop panicking and rest a minute. I'll wait for you to sort through your wicked ways and then we can go back to our happy place. You've always got to be a mood killer. You'd figure by now you'd know when to keep your weird little mouth shut. Apparently not."

"Danny, you don't understand. This is all part of a plan."

"I know," She shrugged.

He gawked. "You…you know?"

"I noticed a bit while we were making out. It was an awfully odd feeling to realize, well, fuck, I don't want to take over the world anymore." She shrugged. 'I haven't really for a while now. I did overreact a bit, didn't I? Well, it's only to be expected. After all, not only did I suddenly have power thrust upon me, but I had a nasty breakup. That's a double whammy. I'm sure Alexander the Great would be pretty PO'd if his boyfriend broke up with them." She snapped her fingers and pointed, her eyes filled with awe. "How much money do you want to bet to see if that was the reason? We could ask the Counsil…the ones I haven't murdered, anyway."

"Murder?" Damian whispered, his voice coming out as a high pitched squeak. "You murdered someone? No! Danny, you're no murderer! Never in a million years could you ever…of course you couldn't Danny! Your memories are screwed up! You couldn't…you couldn't do it! Danny, I've known you all these years and never, ever have you done anything as bad as kill someone! You're crazy!"

"I killed my grandfather," She told him, blinking slowly. "Huh. I killed my grandfather. I did not feel guilty before. I sure do know. Think that's a human thing? Maybe not. Pokemon feel guilty. I think humans just feel it more. They've got too much of their brain devoted to emotion. Well, I should say we, not they. But, we're wavering from the topic. Damian, I knew that you were up to something. You can tell really easy when you're up to something. You get all nervous. It's awfully cute."

"You knew that I was doing this the whole time and you…you…" He grinned a shy grin. "Did you just call me cute? You think I'm cute when I'm nervous?" She rolled her eyes, smiled, and nodded. "I'm cute. Wow. I think you just made my day! You really think I'm cute?"

"Everyone always does with the one they love, don't they?"

The stupid smile grew, "Love? That's awfully weird coming from you, Danny. You hate love." He plopped down, stretching out on the dirt beside her. "Love. I love that word. I could say it all day. But you know what I would _love _to say the rest of my life?" He leaned in close and kissed her nose. "Danny. That's my favorite word of all. I never want to stop saying it. Never ever. You'll be the only name I say. No one else matters, just you and me. We could run away together! Wouldn't that be just amazingly romantic? I'm not too sure, that's why I'm asking. I want to make sure everything's perfect from here on out!"

"You are so cute," Danny grinned. "I believe, good sir, that I'd like to kiss you now? Would you be happy to oblige, or am I going to have to force you into it?" She let her voice drop to a low growl. "Because I wouldn't mind having to fight for a prize."

"I thought you lost that whole ruling the world wish?" Damian blinked a little surprised at the competitive spirit Danny obviously still had.

"Sure I did," She laughed. "But I'm still competitive, silly boy! I've always been competitive. I like to win, so…" She flipped on top of him, pressing him down hard into the dirt. Her nails dug in lightly to his chest, and she seemed always devilishly excited at the prospect of attacking him. "Are you going to try and run, or will you let me have my way with you?"

"I'm deeply disturbed," Sara said casually, still in her little girl form. "Sure, I'm not dumb. I know things breed, but I don't want to watch the mating dance beforehand. Lover, you said that we wouldn't have to watch this kind of thing. You're a good for nothing liar, if you don't mind me saying so. Can we go somewhere else now? I could go for a mango smoothie. We can get those in Iceland, can't we?"

Brian shrugged at the couple at the ground. "Well, at least she chose the green one. She's not exactly crazy anymore. She's just never been too good with geography. And these, Sara-love, are Damian and Danny. You might remember them as Unown A and Unown B. They were the ones we were looking for, not some random teens having wild sex on the beach."

"Oh! Well, that's perfectly fine. By all means, finish up the mating process. I can wait. Do you want me to close my eyes and listen to a seashell? I have no problem with that!" She beamed at them and beamed at Brian, all of which were regarding her with anger tainted faces. "Okay, apparently that wasn't the right choice. I'm here concerning a few rules. Damian, you made an arrangement of sorts with Misty, right? That's what the records say. You gave her three dreams, wishes, whatever you want to call them?"

"Yes," Damian said, a little nervous. Danny crawled off of him, looking just as concerned as he did, and clutched his hand in hers. "I didn't break any kind of rule. I gave her the dreams she made. She wanted you two to use your powers, which you should be able to, and she wanted Danny to be happy with me, which I'm just perfectly content with. We're mates now!"

"Mazeltov!" Sara declared joyfully. "But, no, you weren't wrong in the least. You granted those wishes fully. That's a beautiful thing of you to do, and you've always been a good boy, so here's the thing. The third wish…isn't something you Unown can typically control. Brian and I, however, we have that ability and we can use it through you to grant the wishes, if you're okay with that. Of course, you'll want all the messy details, but the first thing, of course, is to clarify that you know that you don't have to do this. You have an option. Most people don't, so be grateful. I rock your socks."

Brian rubbed his temples. "I wanted this. I wanted the crazy. Why did I want the crazy? I don't know, maybe I'm a bit crazy. I appear to be talking to myself, which is certainly defined as crazy, but isn't thinking talking to yourself as well? So what's wrong with merely vocalizing my thoughts. It's not like I'm arguing with myself. _That's _a crazy thing to do."

"What would we have to do in order to grant the last wish?" Danny blinked. "Wait, what _is _the last wish. Damian, what's the last wish? She granted it through you, so why are you looking at me that way? Hello? Damian?" She waved a hand in front of now glazed eyes. "Can you fix that?"

"What's to fix? He's in shock. You probably will be too, since you appear to have developed a conscience over the time you've been down here. I do hate it when you go into shock. Your faces are hilarious but there's no one around to talk to me! It's very confusifying. Hey! That funny word's from 'Wicked'! Have you ever seen that? Fantastic! You should go watch it. One of the best plays on Broadway, I say. Brian over here is cranky and he didn't seem to like that very much."

"What's the wish?" Danny shouted, crossing her arms and growling at the creature.

"You're cranky too. You and Brian should get together and form a cranky group." She scolded. "Anywho, the wish was for Daisy's babies to be okay. And, normally, we'd just let that slide, but it figures that this would be a special circumstance. See, the babies aren't supposed to be too fine, which is why we came to you two. Do you guys want to save the babies?"

Danny was slack jawed and blank eyed, much like Damian before her, and the two of them could do nothing more but tremble and gawk. Babies, the cutest things in the world, something cute enough to touch both people and pokemon, was deathly in trouble. They could fix it, but apparently at some major cost. They _wanted _to scream yes, but didn't have the ability.

"Look, you screwed up both of them. I hope you're proud of yourself. Breaking both of them like that, both at once. I hate you so much sometimes." The boy shook the two with a little psychic energy, jolting them enough to bring them out of their semi-trance. "Alright you two, I don't know how aware you are of this, but you have _one _body. Every creature on this good planet gets _one _body unless those humans figure out a way to intervene with that. But, regardless, you've got the power within you to change the shape of your body. Most don't. Your bodies are special, equipped with special powers."

"Our bodies hold the powers?"

"Yes," Brian nodded. "What, did you think it was just your soul? No, your soul got lucky and found one heck of a body. And, speaking of which, you two were the biggest screw up my lover here has ever made. As Unown, you should absolutely, with no doubt whatsoever, have any kind of soul. Unown are more like breathing batteries, like plants, not living creatures. You, somehow, ended up getting a soul instead of going into say, a human body or a pokemon body. We need to keep a better eye on this, but that's besides the point."

"We're…supposed to be human?" Damian asked. "So, the reason we were having so much trouble as Unown, Danny with her mood swings, me with my curiosity, that was because our human souls were attempting to come out through our Unown instincts? And the reasons no one else was because they're empty, lifeless drones? That's awfully cruel. Why don't they have souls? Everything should have a soul."

"Is it cruel that dolls don't have souls?" Sara asked.

"No! They never had souls in the first place! It's not like they're _real _or anything…oh. Dolls are chunks or plastic, we're chunks of psychic power, no?" Danny grinned. She tapped her temple. "I got it. But how did you screw that up? Don't you control that kind of thing closely."

"Okay, now, here's the thing, normally we don't have to worry about this type of thing! Souls do this kind of stuff on their own! They know we're they're going and they almost never get thrown into the wrong spot! It's not like it's anyone's fault! Things just get screwed up!" Brian said, sounding a little panicked. "Hey, you guys can't say that you've never made mistakes! We all have our accidents, my accidents just have more of a weight on the world."

"What Brian means to say is that, yes, he is an idiot and he screwed up. His job, the only one to ever have this job, is to make sure the souls get to the right place. There's a lot of souls, in his defense, and there are a lot less souls trapped in trees and a lot less dead girls that refuse to give up their half-demon lover and return to the underworld as a priestess like she's _supposed _to." Sara wrinkled her nose. "Kikyo was a _damn _good hider. We could never find that girl. Eventually, we just gave up."

"You give up on souls?" Damian gasped.

"She didn't want to die!" Sara shouted. "You think that's _my _fault? Uh, no, it's not. Some people just don't understand when it's their time to go! Some people just hold on until you want to take their necks and drag them down to where they belong but then you can't so you just have to give up! It's not like we were taking away life, we were letting her live it. That's actually pretty damn nice of us! So, nyeh to be frank."

"You're all wondering off track!" Brian shouted. He looked around him, letting the argument quiet, then spoke up. "Now, no matter what happens, you can't kill a soul. You can torture it relentlessly, rip it to shreds, put it through never-ending pain, but you can't kill it. You can also give it immense joy. It all works out. So you'd still have your souls, if, say, you decided to let go of bodies and give it to the babies." He paused. "And there…there would be some, ah, reward involved."

They exchanged glances, and looked back. "So…we would give our bodies to the kids? Basically…we're going to give our lives so the two babies can have them? But, what happened to the babies' bodies that they need ours?" Danny asked. "I mean, if they're already dead or something, isn't that all part of fate or what is supposed to happen? Are we supposed to meddle with that kind of stuff? And…why our bodies?" Her nose wrinkled. "Why a reward? It's more like a bribe than anything."

"Well, don't think about fate," Sara instructed, shaking her head at them. "Fate…that's some complicated stuff. Nobody really touches that. Fate is what you make it, really. If you've got the power to make something better, do it. That's what we're asking you to do. Yes, technically, you're dying, but there's still your souls to consider! The babies, they haven't had a chance to live and you have definitely had more than your fair share as soul filled beings. They'll take your bodies, bodies with a dominant human form so they'll live the average eighty years or so, and you'll be free to float around the universe!" She grinned and clapped her hands joyfully. "That's your reward, isn't it fantastic? You'll be able to drift wherever you want, in this world and the beyond! You can just float wherever the hell you want as a pure being of joyfulness and goodness! You can even go and leave hell as you please! _No _spirits get chances to do that!" She sighed. "But, yeah, that's really just a bribe. Will you take it?"

"You still haven't told us why you want us to get rid of our bodies," Danny continued. "There's got to be some reason, if things like you are involved. Even _I _can tell you're not human. This is big stuff. This is legendary stuff. So what's so special about those two kids? They're not even the child of the Chosen One! Isn't this hero stuff supposed to be passed down through a family bloodline. Even if you look at the boy's father he-"

"It's not exactly as you think," Brian said. "Yes, it's often passed down through bloodlines but you'd be surprised by the influence one special person can have on those around them. It's a very complicate, strange thing but Ash polluted everyone around him to be a little bit special, and with all the maternity shirts he bought Daisy, shirts he had handled himself, shirts that she wore against the babies so that a lot more specialness was wearing off on those little ones while they were still developing…" Brian paused. "Let's just say that souls are very influential, and the Chosen One has a _very _prominent soul."

"We can give up our bodies and still…exist, in a way?" Danny asked carefully. "But, still, we…we have to give up our bodies. We worked so hard to finally be human, and even though we lived all those years, they still sucked! I want my chance to do some good, _great_, human things, and I haven't even got the chance! I've just started this whole mess and now I have to let it all go! I can't just…I don't want to, but I don't want the babies to die either."

"If there's anything you want to do, you can do it quickly now. We want stop you from having a final blowout."

"There's not enough time to do everything," Danny whispered. "There's a lot more to this than just walking around on a beach or going skydiving or eating a bacon and five cheese pizza. I want to, well, _live _a life with all the ups and downs. I want to be a human for more than just a couple of days. I don't want to be cheated out of this. I want this. Maybe…maybe you should ask Damian. I'm sure he'll have no problem giving his body up."

"I don't want to," He whispered, crossing his arms across his chest. He looked fiercely around the group, as if challenging them to say any different. "I don't want to do it! I want something for me! I know it's selfish, and I want to help the kids too, but I've lived my entire life without doing something good for myself! I've lived my life giving everything away, and that sounds like a good thing but it's not because…I never really got any love or joy or anything back for it! I want to be selfish! I want to be bad and good and have faults and talents and all kinds of things! I want to be different than I was all these years! I want to do something for me!"

"I want to do something for others," Danny agreed. "I want to get the good feelings from it and I don't want to die for it."

"I'll let you two think a moment, we have time." Brian told them. "You've got all the time in the world, actually. You two have played quite a mess on the time stream. You're lucky Dialga doesn't kick your ass when she finds out about this. Good thing she's busy screwing around with Palkia, or you'd have less patient forces to contend with than us." He turned to Sara. "How much time do they have?"

"They don't need it, Brian," Sara told him. "I think they've already decided."

"I think we have," Danny whispered. She looked at Damian, who grabbed her hand tight and nodded. "We've made our decision. Both of us. And after we say it, we can't ever change our minds, can we? There's no going back to our bodies or realizing we should've given them up to the twins. This is our only chance to choose, right? We know what we have to do. And…and after everything we've missed out on…I think the answer is simple."

**((((((((((PAGE BREAK))))))))))**

And after Misty realized all these things she believed in, she realized she believed something else. She believed that she was in a basement. She was in her dark, dank, but thankfully carpeted basement and she bet that half the people there, well, they weren't really there. She didn't believe that there was any alcohol, even though the others did, and she didn't believe that they were on a cabana roof. They were on a sofa.

Her eyes opened to the scene, most people's eyes opened and amazed. Everyone she had known would be there was there. May, Drew, Gary, Mrs. Ketchum, Prof. Oak, the authors, Brock, her sisters, Ash…but for some reason she couldn't find Danny and Damian. She looked around the room again, biting her bottom lip in hopes of finding them. She, for some strange reason, had a feeling like there was a possibility they might be dead. But no, that couldn't possibly happen! Maybe they had gone back in the box? Yes, it seemed likely. That was their home as far as she could tell.

"No, Misty, they didn't go back in the box," Sara grinned. "They ran off together. There's a few things they need to sort out, just like there's a few things we need to sort out." She leaned forward on her chin and chuckled. "Arceus, you three have gotten big since I last saw you. Where have I been hiding? I really ought to check on people more often. You're always _so_ exciting! Much more exciting than the company I've been with, at least."

"Wait, whahuh?" She said, words coming out as syllables and sounds. She stumbled through them for a few minutes, then finally blurted out. "You're not crazy anymore! And I…I've never met you before. I'm sure I would remember! I remember everyone I met when we were travelling with Ash!" She calmed herself and shook her head. "Sorry, who are you?"

"Oh, I don't want to tell yet! That'll ruin all the surprise!" She cried cheerfully. "Aw, it's Ashy. Hullo, Ashy. There's Brock-o and your sisters and that Gary and…wow! I haven't checked on you all in forever! You've all grown so much! Time passes so much more quickly for humans than it does with us." She giggled. "So, how was your little adventure. I hope you had a bit of fun. I'd be so disappointed if after all this mess nothing good had come of it. Did you learn anything about yourself and others?"

"Who _are _you?" Misty shouted, attracting the attention of the people around her. "And, dammit, what the _fuck _are you going on about? You're not human? When did that happen! I thought you were insane but apparently you're not! You're some kind of alien bent on taking over the world, I bet. We better not have to fight another villain because I will be oh so very pissed if I have to go through that again!"

"Apparently you didn't have much fun on your adventure," Sara sighed. "What a pity. I really was rooting for you. Why are you so grumpy? You should cheer up. It's all over! You won! Do a happy dance or something! I'll dance with you!"

"WHO ARE YOU?" She bellowed at the top of her lungs. Her hands balled into fists at her sides, itching to take a swing at the little girl in front of her.

"Are you still on that?" Sara sighed. "I was hoping we could have a pleasant conversation but _no_, you're just like all the others. You always have to know what's going on. Well, whoop-de-freaking-do, you want to know who I am?" She rolled off the sofa and changed in the air, a little pink creature swaying in the air. _I'm Mew. Are you happy now? Nice way to greet an old friend._

"Wait, if you're Mew…" Misty said slowly. "Does that mean…Hey, Brock. Do you have a younger brother named Brian? He looks a bit like you, pretty annoying."

Brock rubbed his head, a little confused at his sudden gain of sobriety. "Er, no…I don't think so. That or alcohol is screwing with my brain. I could've sworn I was completely wasted two seconds ago…on a beach…with girls…what happened?! I know wasn't here two minutes ago! Man, and the girls totally liked me this time! I must be missing something! What's been going on around here."

"You had girls?" Ash blinked. "You know, I think we might be looking at the wrong story, because Brock got girls, and that's a miracle. Hey, wait, if they aren't here…that means they were never real in the first place. Ha, Brock, you imagined up girls to love you! You didn't actually have any!" He winced as Brock's face wrinkled and the older boy appeared to be on the brink of sobbing. "Well, I'm kinda sorry about that, I didn't mean it. I'm sure you'll find a girl one day! Who wouldn't love a guy like you?"

"I can name a few hundred…" He moaned, then promptly burst into tears. "Why does no one ever love me? What do I have to do to-"

"So, who's Brian?" Ash asked, cutting Brock's lament off once more.

"Mewtwo," Mew grinned, returning to her former shape. "Please don't make me change back and forth too much. I've just gotten used to being in human shape! I don't want to lose the power to shift. Anywho, yes, I'm Mew, that's Mewtwo, and if you don't have anything else to share with us we're just going to do a quick memory blank out on you. Count to twenty six, just because that's my favorite number."

"Wait!" Ash gasped, "didn't we already go over how everyone's entitled to their memories? You can't get rid of them! This doesn't even make sense! Why do we have to forget? I'm not exactly planning on telling everyone that I was held captive in Misty's house for Mew, er, _you _only know how long, and through the power of imagination and dreams we were able to escape. How many guys are going to take me seriously after that? All the gay jokes are going to start up again and I'll have to shift the gay spotlight onto Drew again."

"Wait, all those news stories were _your_-" Drew began, his eyes beginning to narrow.

"There's more to it than that," Mewtwo sighed. "This was an order we got from Legendaries higher in the pecking order. If we're the knights, they're the royals, so to speak. This wasn't supposed to happen. There was no prophecy of it and, well, if there's no prophecy it can't really be let alone. It throws off the lessons humans and pokemon are supposed to learn. You'd be surprised how many times we had to blank the memories of people who did things that prophecies did not foretell. From what Mew has told me, they were some awfully wonderful stories too. Your ancestor, Ash, actually wooed a princess and stole a crown from a man who, yes, the princess may not have loved but was much more qualified to rule." He grinned. "The story was tweaked, of course, to explain how things went to the people. The king became evil and your ancestor became good and was not a royal but a commoner and married Brock's ancestor, who wasn't horrifyingly ugly but drop dead gorgeous."

"Sweet, Brock's my brother?" Ash beamed.

"Not exactly. It's a long, complicated climb up the family tree, one I'm not willing to make. Now, are there any last things you want to say to each other since you won't remember this anyway? Remember, anything you say can't ever be held against to so…Now would be the time to say it. Everything you've done here will be erased. Any unspoken hatred, any guilty consciences, if there's any unspoken love, speak of it now."

Misty sighed, "Drew, I've always hated the hair flip thing. I don't know why, because I can stand Gary's nose thing and Ash's hat thing, but for some reason I can't stand it when you flip your hair. If for some reason anything becomes ingrained in your subconscious, let it be that so you don't annoy people with that anymore. And, Gary? I spray painted your car purple and neon pink and orange. I was bored, it was there, I can't exactly say that I regret it. Sorry I did that to you."

"I don't like you," May said, shrugging at Gary. "I've always hated you, and I'm not sure why. You really, really bug me. I'll admit you're cute, but I've always hated you."

"That's fine. I've come to accept there are idiots out there who don't understand what a great person I am. Idiots like Ash, who are also losers, bad trainers, and incompetent fools. You are forgiven of your hatred of me. Go with a clear conscience." Gary glared at Misty. "You're not forgiven. I hate you, now and forever. Nothing will ever change that." He grinned at Misty. "Sooooo…Wanna make out? I know you secretly love me. Face it, I'm the sexiest man in the room."

"No, ew," Misty wrinkled her nose. "Desperate little freak." She turned to the Legendaries, sighing. "Okay, I would like a couple of holes filled in. Such as, if Ash and I really, really wanted to grow up like I know we did, why weren't we able to just grow? I don't think Danny was stopping us, looking back, because she seemed awfully freaked out that I might change into a teenager at any moment."

"To be technical, you were never actually little kids," Sara explained with a shrug. "You were always…you. It was all an illusion. It as if you were in a trance. A lucid dream, you could say. It's just, well, a fairytale. Nothing that happened the way you think it happened, happened. Ugh, too many happens. Let's take an example. The roses would be nice. Now, they weren't real, per se. What was real is the scar around Misty's ankle. While she was running she scratched her leg on something down her. I think it was glass. So, she has a scar from that. There's nothing wrong with her hand, however, because that didn't happen. Ash quote, drugged by the plant, unquote, didn't happen either. All in your messed up minds."

"I have a scar too," Ash blinked. "Where'd that come from?"

"I threw a vase at you and a shard scratched your hand," Misty shrugged. "Remember? Sorry about that. Slightly unintentional. So, we were never kids? We were always sixteen year olds…acting like we were five year olds? So, say, a psychic pokemon would be able to see a grown up me?"

"Exactly," Brian smirked, cracking her knufles. "You did a bunch of stupid things, but, from what I remember, you two _always _act like you're five. So, I wouldn't worry too much. Now, can I zap your memories away. I'm especially good at that." He wriggled his fingers at them with a dangerous smile. "I was expecting a bit more romance, since this is your last good chance to get it all out in the open. Why do things never go the way they do in the stories?"

"Oh, alright," Drew sighed, turning to his one week girlfriend. "May, before we forget the wonderful, romantic times we shared, how about one last ditch effort at a wonderful, beautiful life?" He forced his lips onto hers, relishing in the cheers and wolf whistles around them, and stayed that way for a good while before pulling back. "Is that romantic enough, or do I have to go through a whole speech for you?"

"Let's make out until our memories blank," May encouraged, surprisingly out of breath and eager to continue for her character. "Hurry up, we don't have all the time in the world. It's soon going to end and I'm going to go out with a bang."

He grinned, whispering in her ear to low for anyone else to hear, "I'm going to leave such a bruise that we'll both remember _exactly _what happened."

"Now that I've been tragically scarred for life," Ash began merrily. "I don't think I really have anything to say. Except that I hate Gary, which he knows anyway. We could talk about the fact that you just hit on Misty. Ew. Why would you do that? She's hated you as long as I have. Not to mention that she doesn't do public displays of affection. Even if she did love you she wouldn't do it right in front of everyone. But other than that…" He trailed off for a moment, tapping his chin. "Oh! I know what I want to say. Misty…" Everyone leaned forward in anticipation, though Misty seemed to show no such excitement. "I…I just wanted to say I…I've always loved…" He blushed. "I've always loved your brownies. You can't cook anything else, but I lied when I said that you didn't bake the best brownies in the world."

Everyone facefaulted (quite a painful thing on concrete), half the people in the room cursed the boy for being so damn dense.

"Well, if that's really all that's left for you to say," Brian asked. "I'm really itching to try out my best power on you people. I'll give you to the count of ten. Does that sound fair? I'm not waiting until twenty six and…Hey! What are you doing Sara."

"Apparently, you still haven't acquired the ability to lose the childhood effects of being in a child's body," Sara sighed, touching a finger to Misty's temples and looking her in the eyes. "I'm trying to see if there's some kind of loophole. You've learned an awful lot, made so much progress, the other prophecies might be off because you haven't done right by your relationship with Ash, but I'm going to have to take it all. No, Misty, thinking of anything but what I'm looking at doesn't work. I'm shifting through your mind like a computer. You could have a file open but I can still browse through the desktop." Misty's blue eyes widened, and she made a brief attempt to fall away from the girl's prying fingers. Somehow, she was pinned in place without a single blink from Sara. "Don't move so much, it makes it harder."

"You're freaking her out, Mew," Brian scolded, though it seemed more like he was pouting than anything else. "You know we've got to blank them, so just let her go so I can do my job. You always want to help people and make them feel better, it can't always be done!"

"Uh-huh, alrighty. Who's been here longer? I think it's me, child. So bug off." Sara snapped. She went back to Misty, sighing. "Well, goodness, I've been around you enough to know how you feel, lovey, you don't have to recoil so badly. Love can't be all that embarrassing or terrifying. Trust me, what I'm doing will all make it right in the end. It'll all make sense eventually." Her hand snapped away and she ran to Ash, placing her hands on his temples much like she had done with Misty.

"This is awkward," He said, feeling the blush rise again in his cheeks.

"Shut up. I'm busy making you happy. Your just as bad as people seeing this stuff as she was. You're all little crazies. Can't let me do a single thing I want. Who's the all knowing Legendary? I am, that's right. So let's listen to Mew because she knows what she's doing." She testily finished with Ash, then stormed back to Mewtwo. "See, was it that hard to wait?"

"But I want to do it _now_. I never get to have any fun anymore! All we do is learn and learn about how I'm supposed to use my powers and you can't blame me for complaining! You know, I bet all this stress is why we can't have a baby Mew!" He whined.

"Ew…you two…?" Gary asked, cocking his head to one side. "Aren't you, like, the same person since Mewtwo's a clone of Mew?"

"Oh, no," Brian comforted. "Actually, I was cloned from another Mew, not this one. That Mew's dead now. You don't have to worry about incest or anything like that." He grinned at Mew. "Can I please, please, please, please, _please _hit the erase button now."

"No last words everyone?" Sara asked, scanning the room for any hesitation. After a minute of no one speaking up, she sighed. "Alright, Mewtwo. Do your thing and you all prepare yourselves for a magical time traveling adventure. I'd say we'll go all the way back to…the morning after Misty found the box. But this time, she didn't find it, and Ash is still on his way." She smiled and waved at them. "Goodbye again."


	24. Chapter 24

**Final chapter, actually. I changed my mind. No epilogue, sorry! BUT, after I finish some other stuff, I'll make a sequel. Check my profile for the spoiler!  
I just thought it was nicer to end it here.  
Keep in mind that this chapter is very jumpy, very jerky, because there's just event after event as it all comes to a close.**

**Chapter 24**

"_Ring, ring, ring! Ring, ring, ring! Phone call! Phone call!" _The phone cried merrily downstairs. It was followed by a chorus of Sensational Sisters screaming that it was always the baby sister's responsibility to pick up the phone, especially on a Saturday, and besides, it was probably her little boyfriend anyway. And, since the call was most likely hers, she had to be the one to pick it up, but if it belonged to any of them, they'd happily race down the stairs to answer it.

So, with that knowledge in mind and having absolutely no intention of giving her sisters the phone, but instead planning on mimicking their voices and freaking out their boyfriends, Misty trudged down the stairs and towards the phone. Sadly, though she knew it was not to be, it was not one of her sisters' boyfriends, instead it was Ash with a guilty look on his face, but a guilty look was better than no look at all.

Yes, Ash was a day late, he had not called but Misty was not surprised. It was _Ash _for goodness sakes! He never actually was on time to anything. She was just thankful he wasn't dead in a ditch somewhere off the side of an unpopular road; and she was glad he had actually bothered to call her this time. This was a special occasion, so she allowed Ash to see her fiddle with her hair and clothes until she looked manageable and decided to say the first hello. "Good morning, Ash. How could you call me this early on a Saturday?"

"You need to start waking up earlier," He grinned, "Even on weekends. Sorry we're so late, Mist. The bus broke down, so we got irritated and walked for a while, then the bus passed us and they wouldn't stop to pick us up so we had to walk all the way, but we're in Cerulean now! I'm calling from the Center, like usual. I was planning on just dropping in but you seem to get really mad whenever I do that…" He trailed off. "Er, so you're not in the attic sweeping up anymore? All the family chores done? I can come over without you ditching me for an attic? Ooh! Better question! How's Daisy and the baby?"

"Babies, plural," Misty grinned. "We've got twins." The smile flickered for a second. "Hey, Ash, I know this is weird, but I think I woke up with a new scar yesterday. It's…it's down around my ankle. Do you ever remember me having a scar there before? I've been trying to figure it out and I showed it to my sisters and they said that they had never noticed it before. I know you think they wouldn't notice anyway, but when it comes to looks, this is something they'd definitely notice. They always watched to make sure I didn't pick at my scabs so I wouldn't scar…and I know I haven't cut myself!"

"Funny you should mention that, Mist," Ash said. "I've got the same thing, except I've got one on the back of my hand! I know I didn't have it the other day, and I know I didn't cut myself either! I keep track of every scar I get. You can't tell a story about a scar if you can't remember which scar's which." He shook his head. "It doesn't hurt or anything. It's just there, like I've had it all my life. Weird, isn't it? Not just that these things popped up out of nowhere, but we've both got 'em."

"Really weird," Misty agreed. "Somehow…I feel like I know where they came from, but I can't remember where. I don't think I got it all too long ago, especially since it hasn't really faded all that much. You feel the same about yours?"

"I know it wasn't long because my hand was still scabbed kinda…I picked at it though, so it's really just a scar anyway."

"Don't pick at your scabs, Ash," She chided.

"You're one to talk!" He retorted. She stared at him, head cocked to the side. "Yeah, I guess that was kinda stupid, huh? You never pick at your scabs! Just yelling at me and how I'm not supposed to. So, anyway, I'll swing but your house later, I guess? We could have a battle or something. I guess I don't have much planned." He laughed and scratched the back of his neck. "We could always catch up, Misty. It feels like we've been growing apart. We haven't had a real friendship thing, and that's pretty sad, because you used to be one of my best friends. I want to, you know, connect with you like old times, you know what I mean?"

"Aw, Ash, that's so sweet! I'd love to catch up with you and-"

"Either I wet the bed of my water just broke!" Daisy shouted from upstairs. "I'm pretty sure it's my water! Someone call the hospital! Misty, get off the phone with Ash this instant and call Dr. Marshall right now! Someone better be calling a cab and getting the father of my children on the phone so I can give birth to these _damn_ monsters! Oh, Mew! This is going to hurt so bad! I don't want them anymore! I want an abortion!"

"Too late for that," Misty muttered. She grinned at Ash. "Well, you heard Daisy! Babies are coming! Meet us at the hospital! See ya, Sexy!" The phone tapped down on the receiver, and she readied herself to call the doctor, just to let him know the babies were coming two weeks early.

Then, everything stopped. _See ya, Sexy_? Were Ash and her even close enough to joke about that kind of thing anymore? Two years ago, sure, when they still went an extra mile to talk to one another at least once a week, sometimes more. What had come over her that she had decided to make _that _comment? Would he laugh it off and just think of her as 'good ol' Mist', not a creepy girl who had a crush on him? Arceus, she hoped so, and dialed the phone.

**(PAGE BREAK)**

"_See ya, Sexy! _Click!" The phone informed him, screen going black. This was one of the few times when he could actually feel his _ears _heat up with a blush.

He knew she didn't mean it. It was just Misty being Misty, like always. She joked and teased, you could barely ever tell when she meant something or not. Just because she called him that didn't mean that she actually thought him…sexy. She was just trying to get as close to him as they used to be, and isn't that what he wanted? Didn't he really want to be best friends with her again, with all that joking and playing around? Just like they were ten again! All they needed was Brock and Pikachu and they could practically be traveling through Kanto without a single badge under his belt, free from all the hassles of being a teenager.

Sometimes…sometimes he just wished he could be a kid again!

But his wish wasn't answered, and he sighed and returned to his lowered thoughts. Yes, he did want them to be close again, but when she said he was sexy, he didn't want her to be kidding about it. He wanted, dare he say it? an actual relationship with the tomboy. It wasn't even as if she had changed all that much either! Neither of them had. They'd just grown taller, and stronger, and smarter, and better looking…and he bet there were some pretty curves coming in too…

He shook his head and blushed. He wouldn't think of Misty that way. He would just hold the picture of the scrawny ten year old in his head. No, he wouldn't grow it up any. He wouldn't slim away a bit of the roundness, he wouldn't wonder exactly how much of her sisters genetics she really had, if she would have the slender, hourglass shape that the her siblings had. Nope, he wouldn't think of any of that. He wasn't Brock. He didn't swoon over any woman who crossed his path, pretty or scrawny. Yet…Misty wasn't just any woman, was she?

"She's not a woman anyway. Not yet. I won't think about it. I won't, I won't, I won't think about it. I…" He blew out slowly, feeling his heart race at her image in his head. His hands tightened and opened at his sides and he swallowed and licked his dry lips. "Oh…I'm definitely thinking about it. You're a pervert Ash. You are a sick kid. Stop thinking about it. She's your friend; friends don't think about friends like they're something other than friends!"

"They do when they hit puberty and girls start looking _real _nice," Drew informed. He sat down next to Ash, sitting with the chair turned the wrong way and his chin resting on the high back. "So, May kept hinting at it, but I guess you've got a crush on Misty? That would explain why I was dragged out here. May's as big of a romantic as my sister was…before this whole evil phase started. I think she might worship the devil now." He face contorted with worry. "What's grandma going to think?"

"I don't like her," Ash sighed. "And she…she doesn't like me."

"That's funny," Drew blinked. "Because I could've sworn I heard a rather attractive red head, if I was into redheads, call you sexy. So, I guess she's just the type of girl who walks around calling everyone sexy? That doesn't seem like the kind of girl you'd hang out with."

"Well, no," Ash sighed grudginly. "She doesn't call _everyone _sexy. Misty doesn't really call anyone sexy. She doesn't actually mean it. It's just…when we were your age she would call me that all the time. Now that we're older we sort of grew apart and she's just trying to get back what we had, you see? I want to get it back. So, well, the sexy thing is just another step closer to being best friends again. You'll understand when you're older and you've grown apart from one of your friends."

"You realize I'm barely two years younger than you, and you're talking as if you're a fifty year old man?" Drew asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I've grown apart from friends before. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not the most open person in the world. That tends to throw a few people off. I'm not all too sure, she seems to have something for you. Did you see her face right before she hung up? Looked horrified, seemed like she made a Freudian slip than a cute joke."

Ash gawked. "You're saying she _accidently _called me sexy? Do you know how stupid that sounds? Misty doesn't accidentally do anything! Everything she does is on purpose. Unlike me, she doesn't screw up." He crossed his arms and pouted.

"Ash, aren't we supposed to be getting to the hospital?" Drew asked, threading his fingers through his hair. His eyes flicked to May, crashed on the couch after dancing to _American Woman_ for three hours straight before falling asleep at four a.m. (from which she had never woken up) "Daisy's in labor, isn't she? Who _is _Daisy? The red head's…she's Misty, and I know you definitely didn't knock her up."

"Nah, the gym's at least ten minutes away; we're only two," Ash shrugged. "We've got loads of time, no pressure. So…are you planning on making your move on May? We both know that even if I did like Misty, which I don't, I would never hit on her. I think it's up to you to get a girl. Brock's hopeless, Tracey's dating, I think you might be the only guy besides Gary who has a chance at getting a girlfriend, and he probably won't get one because he has too many girls to choose from."

May yawned, rolling off the couch and shaking her head. Her fingers played with her hair, tugging gently at the knots as she yawned again and walked over to the boys. "What are you two doing?" She inquired. "The phone's not even on. What, were you two actually talking? That's pretty weird. You two couldn't have a conversation even when I tried to bribe Ash into it. What, did you two finally realize that training and coordinating are just as good?"

"Coordinating requires so much more thought process and intelligence than training ever will. Look at Ash; he's proof that anyone can be a trainer. It obvious requires no skill. Coordinating is much more difficult, and _jock trainers _like Ash will never understand that."

"Fine, I'm a jock, you're a nerd. I say training is just as good as coordinating," Ash snapped. "Maybe you should stop being so proud all the time! You're not any better with pokémon than I am! At least I have a heart! I care about my pokémon! You're just a big jerk who doesn't care about anything but yourself! You know who you're like? You're _just _like Gary! You keep everyone away from you and never let 'em in, and because of that you're never going to have a really, really good friend! Just a bunch of posers!"

"Says the guy who was just telling me how he lost his best friend," Drew muttered, turning his head away and flipping his hair.

"Lost your…" May blinked. "Someone died, Ash? What's he mean by that?"

"Nothing," Ash glared. His hands clenched into fists at his sides, his nose wrinkling with anger. "Nothing at all. Don't listen to him. He doesn't know what the hell he's talking about. May, maybe you should think twice before bringing Drew along next time. Whether or not you're both willing to chase after one another shouldn't hurt me. How about you spend some time apart for once? If you're lucky, you'll forget one another and I won't have to hear you go on and on about how much you love each other." He swung his backpack around his shoulders and stood up, every movement stiff. "C'mon Pikachu. Daisy's in labor."

(You should never leave a place angry,) Pikachu scolded, leaping to his shoulder. (It's bad mojo. You leave a place angry and it follows you around like an angry cloud and then there's just more and more bad stuff happening to you, which makes the cloud grow bigger and it gives other people their own clouds and maybe you should talk this out with Drew before you pollute the world with your angry cloud?) She asked hopefully, tapping her muzzle to his cheek.

Ash scratched her behind the ears and shook his head. "I know. I just don't like how I told him something and now he's practically blackmailing me. I don't know _why _I thought it would be any different between the two of us. We don't get along and I don't think anything could ever bring us together." He chuckled. "Come on, don't you want to get all girly over Misty's nephews? I know how much you love all those cute things. Couldn't even attack Togepi."

(That was my _child._ I loved that little thing. You tried to make me hit it and it was _hugging _me. Exactly how heartless do you think I am?) She settled down on his shoulder, little claws pricking in a way he had grown accustomed to. (I'm only that cruel to you.)

"Oh, real nice."

(Love hurts.)

**(PAGE BREAK)**

"Ash! You're here! Thank goodness you're here! I've been waiting for you! What took so long?" The girl beamed. He barely saw her pajama covered body blur as she threw her arms around him in a grip hard enough to crush his ribcage. "The babies are coming. I'm not having them and I'm already freaking out! I'm so excited, Ash! I mean, I still wish Daisy hadn't gotten pregnant and we're going to have to kill the children for being nasty brats and I'm so worried Daisy's going to hurt so bad but I'm so excited! Do you know how that feels?" She took a deep breath and stood back, her side ponytail already up and messier than he had ever seen it.

His stomach tingled at bit, the clichéd 'loving her smile' feeling warming him from the inside out, but he shook it off with a laugh. "I'm excited too, Misty, but I don't know if anyone can feel everything you do. I don't know if most _girls _can feel everything you do!"

"Aw, quiet. You know how girls are with babies. Well, at least how I am. I love the cuties. I can't help it if we're finally getting some in the house. They say Daisy's moving pretty quickly, faster than most women. They don't really know why, but our doctor said it was a trait a lot of Waterflower girls had. I guess I understand, I know we're fast, but I've never heard of anyone in our family moving _this _fast. When we got her here, she was already fully, well, you don't want to hear all the details. Her husband's talking to her on the phone. She wants me in there, and I promised I'd go as soon as you all got here. Do you know when Brock and Tracey are coming? Oh, and before you ask, Ken will be here sometime tomorrow. He's finally landed a job over in Celadon. It pays pretty good too, better money than the gym makes."

"Heh, Barbie and Ken," He snickered, just as he did _every _time he heard the name. "I called them both on the way over. Brock should come in a few more minutes, Tracey said it would take him, oh fifteen minutes I guess. It can't be longer than that. He's taking Gary's car but Gary doesn't know that so, heh, let's not tell him? Tracey and Prof. Oak will get in so much trouble for going behind Gary's back!" He looked over at the ward, where Daisy had begun to scream for drugs and anger at Ken (_Heh, Ken and Barbie_) and for Misty to get in there so she would have something to claw on. "Well, you should get in there, shouldn't you? Your sister's in labor!"

"I know, I really want to but…I want to wait for Brock and Tracey, but if it's going to be so long…plus I think Daisy might be out to kill me. I've been trying to stay out of her reach, but it hasn't really been working. She's already scratched up my arms. She's already scratched up my arms. Every time she has a contraction…" Misty shivered, imagining the pain she had already gone through and her own pain in future childbirth. "Promise to never let me get knocked up. If it hurts like that, I'll just adopt. Get my tubes tied or something, you know?" She bit her lip. "I'm scared, though. There's so much that…my family doesn't have a perfect medical record. What if the kid comes out with webbed toes?"

"He'll be a fantastic swimmer," Ash chirped in spite of her angry glance. "Aw, Mist, you don't have to worry so much! Things go well or they don't, and from the number of healthy people I see walking around today, a bunch of them go well! You've just gotta hope for the best, Mist. I'm sure it'll all turn out alright. I'm sure the doctor would have noticed something on the tests they do with babies. We're a lot more advanced than we used to be. You can even choose the gender of your kids now, sometimes the look and strength if you go for a complete lab child, even though Daisy's stuck with whatever boy she gets."

"Why said there's a boy in there? Is could be identical twin girls," Misty grinned, trying her best to be light about it. "I'll go in in a second. I'm just going to wait for Brock and Tracey. Then…" She watched Ash eye her, his mouth turned up in a bit of a grin. "Ash, how often do I shirk my responsibilities. We both know _you _do, plenty of times, but sweet and pure Misty…You don't think I'm telling the truth, do you?"

"Actually, I know you're not telling the truth. C'mon, Mist, get in there now because you know your sister needs you. I'm sure Daisy's the type who needs a whole support group to help her through this kind of thing. From the way she's screaming, I think she could probably use some stronger painkillers too." As if on cue, Ash and Misty were forced to wince at another shriek of pain (featuring quite a few obscenities) from Daisy.

Misty looked down the hall, then back at Ash with a sigh. Her mouth opened to speak, then closed, then open, and she hesitated one more moment before speaking. "I know it doesn't seem like it, but she's strong Ash. She might be stronger than any of us. She is the oldest. She took care of us when we were little. She can take care of a couple of kids too. They can't be any worse than I was. It's all going to be fine." Misty hooked her fingers in her belt loops and turned to leave.

"Misty! Wait!" Ash called. She turned to him, thumbs still looped, and his face flushed a bright red under the pressure. "I, uh, you're strong too, you know that?"

She smiled, so sincere and sweet it made him go weak at the knees. "Thanks Ash. It means a lot to hear it from you."

Then she turned, walked back to the room, and Ash facefaulted into the carpeted floor. That could have gone SO much better…

**(PAGE BREAK)**

Half an hour later, a labor time for the record books, she came out on the brink of tears. Hands clasped tightly over her mouth, eyes red from rubbing them dry, she tried to stop the sobs welling up in her chest. She was unnoticeable at first, her friends talking in the room were a little too involved in their own conversation than in her too silent descent to the waiting room. She spoke only three words, so soft, but somehow loud enough to be heard by all; such announcements always seemed to be able to. She spoke three words that made the idle chatter go quiet: "There's something wrong."

Then she was crying openly, fear stripping her in front of her friends. "The babies aren't crying! They have a heartbeat, they breathe, but they won't cry or eat or anything. The doctors don't know what's wrong! She's healthy, he's healthy! They're perfectly healthy! There shouldn't be anything wrong with them but they won't respond! The doctors haven't seen anything like it! They did every test the could! There's nothing wrong with them! Their bodies are fine, their minds are fine but…but…" She cried harder, letting Brock come up behind her and embrace the sobbing teen. She turned to him, ignoring the others in the room.

"Is that why you've been back there so long, after you told us what the genders were? You and your sisters, were they crying?" Brock soothed. He rubbed her back in his best older brother way and used the other to tighten his grip. Meanwhile, she could only bring herself to nod. "Maybe it's nothing. They're physically sound, at least, that's a good thing, isn't it? They're probably just dazed or something. Weird things happen with babies."

She shook her head. "Brock, their eyes are both wide open, just staring. They're just looking straight ahead, like they're blind but…they tested that. They tested for that one four times. They can see. Then they tested to see if they were deaf, they tried that five times. They can see and hear. Everything's functioning the way it's supposed to! But those infants! I can't stand it! Looking down in them…it's horrible! It's like looking at a doll Brock! It's like they have no soul."

Brock's mouth dropped open, and he could not help but to pull away a bit. "Misty, that's ridicul-"

She yanked her head away, tearful red eyes striking fear into his heart. "No, it's not. You would see it too, if I took you to them. I don't want to though. You shouldn't have to see that. It's a horrible thing, Brock. It's a horri_fying _thing. Empty glass eyes. That's all you'll be able to look at. Their eyes…they're so pretty but…It should be so bright. It's pretty like a drawing, or a dead thing, more likely a dead thing. A drawing has more of a soul than they do."

Brock back away this time, appalled. "Misty! Stop it! You can't say-!"

"No, Brock," Violet whispered. She shook her head slowly, walking in with wide, scared eyes. She had been just as quiet as Misty, and they jumped when they heard her speak. "She's, like, right. No one else could put their finger on it, but, like, once Misty brought it up, there's, like, absolutely no doubt. Daisy's children have no souls. Like, even our big sister knows it. She's, like, taking it harder than the rest of us. She, like, went into shock or something. She can't even, like, cry. Something went very wrong in there."

Ash's voice, lighter than normal, piped up from his seat: "It's just a delay. Give them a few minutes. Ramming a human soul into a body isn't a mindless task. It takes a lot of work, and it's really hard once the body is in front of everyone. If she hadn't have given birth so quickly, Mew and Mewtwo would've had the time to fix everything up. Why did that woman give birth so fast? That's just weird. Normal parents don't go that fast, I know. Is it because she's so young? Er, well, I guess it'll work in a few moments. Always does. Mew and Mewtwo have been teaching us a whole lot about souls, not that you'd know much about that anymore, since they screwed you up."

"Ash?!" Tracey gawked. "What are you talking about? Isn't that a little spiritual for you? Talking about…souls and Mew and…I've never even heard of a Mewtwo!"

"That's not Ash," Misty murmured. Her head tilted to the side, her eyes widening then slitting a couple times, as if trying to focus on text to small to read. "I know who it is, and it's not Ash. I can't put a name on it though. Can't think of it at all. Started with a D or a U. When are the babies going to be fixed? I don't know if I can stand the waiting much longer. I don't think I can ever look in those eyes again."

"Soon, very soon," Damian grinned with Ash's lips. "Very, very soon."

And then, of course, through the miracle of the beyond, Lily's voice came from Daisy's room, "Violet, Misty! Come quickly! The babies, they're crying! Come fast! Omigawd, it's so wonderful! Something happened. I, like, don't' know what, but it sure is something good!"

Misty's face lit up like a lantern and she jumped to her feet. "Thank you Mew, Mewtwo, Arceus, whatever fixed this mess! Violet, come on! Don't just stand there petrified! You've got to move!" Her sister gawked a moment more, then raced after Misty, the girls giggling and screaming happily all the way down to the room, and surely inside the room once they had slammed the door a little louder than needed.

Ash shook his head and put a hand to his temple, wondering exactly where the past five minutes of his life had gone. His gaze went around the room. Yes, he had been there before he blanked out, but what…? "Alright, I don't know what it was, but I missed something. Who want to tell me what was going on?"

"It's a miracle," May sighed dreamily. "I can't believe you don't remember."

Ash leaned forward eagerly. "What?"

Drew smirked. "You were intelligent."

"Hey!"

**(PAGE BREAK)**

Once the situation had settled, they group was taken back to look at the babies through the glass, until the crowd thinned to go and see the sweaty, disgusting Daisy, who didn't really want to be seen at the moment because, well, she _was _sweating and disgusting from labor. The doctors had finished up their tests on Daisy, and nothing appeared to be wrong with her either. She was all ready to talk to her friends! The girl had moaned.

"So, what are their names? The _twins._ I never get to see _twins_. Well, aside from Lily and Violet, but they don't really count. Did you name them after famous people?" Ash inquired, resting his forehead on the glass window. "Daisy seems like the kind of girl to name her kids after celebrities. Two beautiful babies, though it's kind of creepy how the boy has that darker skin and hair and those blue eyes. That's not normal. Pretty, I guess, but I've always liked red hair best. Hope my kid has red hair." He giggled at the blushing red head. "I'm probably gonna need a girl with red hair to get a kid with red hair."

"That'll be weird. I don't know what everyone will say. After all this time I traveled with you…I don't know how I never noticed! I just can't believe you're going to marry Jessie." She joked. Ash scoffed, then laughed, a little giddy from all the excitement. They went on for a while, laughing until they hardly could anymore. Once she caught her breath, Misty explained: "The boy? That's named Jonathan Dylan, after our grandfather and Ken's grandfather. I think it's nice enough, pretty, isn't it?"

"Heh, Ken and Barbie," Ash snickered.

"Yes, well, the girl…her name is Amelia Seréna. Sair-ain-uh, that kid is never going to get her name said right. She'll never be able to spell it, either. I told Daisy to skip the middle name, but no. She had to have the middle name. She said that most people didn't even use their middle name. She said that she never used her middle name, and I had to explain that she didn't have one. Anyway, Daisy might have made up that name. I'm almost positive she did. She said she liked the way it sounds. At the time, she was a little loopy off the pain killers. I told the nurse not to ask her right then, but she didn't want to listen."

Ash nodded in sympathy. "So, what's their last name? Barbie and Ken…?"

Misty's teeth clenched. She made sure to avoid eye contact when she answered, and prayed that he would be thick enough to not get it. "Hart."

"Amelia Seréna Hart," He said thoughtfully. He broke out into a grin and looked at her, though she was sure to keep her angry eyes in another direction. "That's the perfect last name! That's funny! What are the odds Daisy would end up with someone who had a last name like that? I can't believe I got this one! This is usually the kind of thing I never get! It's just a day full of things going against the odds! Hey, did Daisy name her that because-"

"Yes, I didn't get a voice in the matter." She ground her teeth into one another, hating the sound and feel but not having any other way to vent. "Ken agreed with her, but she was absolutely delirious at the time. He's just an idiot. The two need to learn that the decisions they make now will affect those children for the rest of their life. Exactly _why _you would ever want your child to be like…the one she named it after…is beyond me. I argued, I argued hard, but she said a hero is always a great namesake. I said that there's no hero in that namesake. Besides, I'm sure that no one will ever call her-"

"Hey, little Ash! Little Amelia Seréna Hart, A-S-H, little Ash. Hey, I'm big Ash! Hi!" He waved at the baby, barely able to contain his giggles. "Your sister named her baby after me. How annoying is that going to be? I can't wait to tell everyone exactly what to call her!"

She finally turned to him, growling and punching his arm several times. He did nothing but laugh more and turn to shield himself from her blows. "Shut. Up. You're such an ass! Nobody will call her that, not if I have anything to say about it! Amelia or Amy, we will _not _call her Ash. Nobody would ever be ridiculous enough to! What if she started acting like you? That would be horrible! If _you _call her Ash, I'll kick _your _ash all the way to France, understood?"

"Deeply," He sighed, rubbing his arm tenderly. He looked up, his mouth opened to speak, then noticed she wasn't looking. If he didn't have to make eye contact, maybe he'd be able to… "Uh, hey Misty? Could I ask you something?"

"Sure," She nodded, wriggling her fingers at the babies.

"I…I just wanted to ask you…"He trailed off and sighed. He shouldn't be this scared! He was a hero, dammit! It wasn't this hard to take down a villain; it wasn't this hard to win a match! It wasn't ever this hard to talk to Misty (or any girl) before, but how did you get the confidence to do something when the person you turned to for confidence was the person you needed confidence to talk to? "Damn, it's a catch twenty two!" Ash shouted.

The redhead next to him jumped and stared. "Huh?"

"Never mind! I wanted to ask you to, uh," He looked down at his feet. He could ask a girl out! He was brave and strong! Unfortunately, all that bravery and strength seemed to be reserved for other situations. But! He could say it. Ask her out for pizza, don't tell her it's a date until she's dropped off at the door and just run to the car. It was a brilliant plan. Doomed to fail, probably, but he considered it brilliant. He cleared his throat and, with the utmost confidence, "Do you want to go out for pizza?"

"Sure! I'd love to. I've had a craving for pizza. Have you asked Brock and Tracey yet?" She asked, so cheerful it drove him out of his mind. She smiled at him, finally taking her eyes off the babies as they were taken away for Daisy's first breast feeding lesson, oblivious to the trouble she was causing. "I know a great parlor around, serves New York style pizza. Sorry, we don't have any good Chicago around here. All the sauce tastes really sweet."

"Ew, the tomato sauce is sweet?" He asked, internally smacking his forehead. He was supposed to get the girl to _date _him, not discuss pizza recipes. But, no, he was stupid and now he had to talk about Chicago versus New York style pizza. Even if she _was _wrong and Chicago _was _better (though they had stubbornly argued this point for the past six years) he still needed to pluck up some courage. "So, we could go for New York style pizza after everything's finished here."

She wrinkled her nose at him. "Don't you think you should check with everyone else? They probably have things to do. Brock's got the gym and his family to worry about; Tracey has piles of paperwork for Prof. Oak; Drew and May have to get ready for the next contest. Oh! Not to mention Tracey has to get the car back ASAP so Gary doesn't find out he took it. It's been nice seeing everyone, but I think they really do all have to leave." She laughed. "Ash, it'd probably end up being just you and me!"

He shuffled. Great, more courage needed. Couldn't this torture end? "Maybe…that was my point." He blushed under her questioning glare. "I'm not saying it _was _my point. I'm just…well, we're trying to be friends again. Two people who know each other well, friends. You get to know people by spending time with them. So, if we go out, alone, or with other people, we'll get ot be close." He cleared his throat, "in theory."

"But doesn't that sound like a…" She blushed, laughed, and turned back to the baby filled room. The excuse barely worked anymore, seeing as the nurse was walking down the hall with them. "No, of course not, I've been hanging out with my sisters too much! Listen to me! Everything sounds like a date! I guess I am pretty desperate for a relationship. I'm even thinking about going out with you. Whew, pretty pathetic, huh?"

"Nice, and it does sound like a date," Ash mumbled. He tried to choke out, _because it is one_, but the words died in his throat. He forced a smile out. "You're not completely crazy, not yet."

"Hey! Are you implying that I'm crazy? Because I don't take well to boys who call me crazy. You'll never get that pizza date you're after if you keep insulting me." She eye him for a moment before turning back to the room, lips raised in a smirk. "And New York style pizza is much better than that Chicago crap."

"It is not! And it's not a date either! You couldn't pay me to go out with you! You'd have to beg me to take you out! You know what else? You _would _beg me to go out with you, just like every other girl I've ever met! Your life is completely about me! That's why you want to get me to ask you out! You couldn't stand to be without me!"

"Oh, you're so right Ash! I just can't live without you here and near and dear with me! I need you with me always! Your chocolate brown eyes are what I want to see when I get up in the morning and when I go to sleep. I dream about running my hands through your silky locks and ripping off your shirt and having wild sex every night in odd places and positions!" She said breathlessly, her head tossed back in fake euphoria.

"If you insist," he shrugged.

She brought her head back down and glared at him. "Oh, shut up. That was awfully romantic until I got to the wild stuff. You can't really have any romance without the wild stuff anymore, can you? At least, not on the bookshelves. It's nothing but sex nowadays. Are you blushing because I said sex?" She raised an eyebrow at him, and he was indeed blushing red. "Oh, the innocent. How wonderful. Hey! I just got a brilliant idea! I should be romantic with you! Maybe if I sweet talk you enough you'll finally pay me back for a certain something of mine you ruined the moment we met. You seem like someone sweet talk would work on."

"Yeah, too bad it doesn't work on you. I could use getting out of some stuff." He returned to staring at the babies, though he didn't much have an excuse to either, and felt a little disappointed in himself. Apparently, he wasn't any good with girls. Yes, he knew that before, but now it was even worse because he barely even considered Misty a girl. Now he knew he would _never _be able to talk to _any _girl ever again. He would stop being afraid! He wouldn't be weak! Ash; he was the Chosen One! The Chosen One could do anything, _anything_, even tell Misty…The Chosen One wasn't good with words.

…But, he was awfully good at actions.

Then he, without a hint of hesitation, walked up to the girl and put his lips to hers. The Chosen One closed his eyes, while Ash remained stiff and awaited to be slapped. But he _wasn't _slapped, and that might have been the best part of all. Instead, she moved close and kissed him back. Unlike what he had seen in the movies, where the man toppled the woman backward onto a conveniently placed bed or bench, Misty easily took control. Her hands placed his on her shoulders (apparently, that was as far down as he was allowed to go (and he was okay with that)) and then she wrapped her own arms around his waist.

He pulled away, his lips just millimeters from hers. "I'm the guy, aren't we doing this-" Ash began, his masculinity insulted. He shut himself up since the glare on Misty's face wasn't particularly kind. "Okay, however you want to do it! Your way, not mine, very clear! If you want your hands on my waist and my arms on your neck so I have to be the girl, because everyone _always _makes me the girl, that's fine with me."

The glare dissolved into a smile. "Attaboy, you catch on fast. Now, shut up and…oh, that's weird." Misty put a hand to her temple, stepping away from him. She rubbed it slowly, then looked up with a baffled expression. "I thought you kissing me was making me lightheaded, but that's not it. You're not that good."

"Hey! You're the one who…okay, I started it, but you took over. You take everything over. Jerk. So, I mean, if you took over doesn't that technically mean that you were the one who was doing it wrong?" He challenged.

"No, it means _you _didn't do crap and I had to do all the work." She glared. "Don't ruffle me up, Ash; you'll regret it later, especially since I'm so dizzy. I think I feel like I'm gonna faint. You have that feeling, Ash? It'll be just like our matching mysterious scars."

He blinked. "That's not because I'm happy I finally kissed you?"

"Do you still feel it, or is it fading?" She inquired.

He shrugged: "It's getting worse."

"Then, _no_, Ash, that's a medical condition and you're not dizzy because you finally kissed a girl. Congrats on finally becoming a man, though. Come here!" She pulled him closer and put her fingers to his temple, not pushing down hard, but touching gently. "Did you hit yourself earlier? You do that pretty often. It could just be every time you hit your head suddenly hurting all at once. Not very factual, but weirder things have happened to you."

"Ow! No, I didn't! Get your hand off! It hurts!" He whined, trying to pull away. She merely tightened her iron grip on his shirt, no squirming could get him way. So, instead of twisting, he brought his hand to her temple a scowl lingering on his face. He intended to poke her, not hard, to show her that it hurt, but ended up putting his hand lightly to hers. This, of course, only resulted in the traditional bright lights flashing before the eyes oh-dear-mew-the-room-is-spinning feeling as their memories raced back into their head.

Misty gasped. "Holy crap! Did what just happen to me just happen to you?"

"You mean the flashing lights and the Unown taking over the world?"

"Yeah."

"Well, yeah. Notice that the twins look an awful lot like Danny and Damian?"

"Yeah, did you get that part?"

"What part?"

"Oh, you didn't get all the extras I did. You should've gotten the special package. Danny and Damian gave up their bodies to replace it with the twins. Theirs were screwed up. How do I explain that to Daisy? Oh, who am I kidding? Like any of them will notice the babies came in two different colors. I doubt they even know enough genetics to figure it out. Eh, her boyfriends pretty dark anyway. We'll write it off to that." She giggled and shrugged. "I just can't believe they did that. They _died _for the twins. It's awfully romantic."

"That's not love stuff," Ash retorted, his tone so blunt it ruined any chance of romance still left in the moment.

"Well, no, Ash, it's not love stuff, but romance is more than that. Things can be romantic without, you know, boyfriend/girlfriend stuff. It's a…it's just that warm, good-al-over feeling. I say it's romantic, to do something as nice as that. It's an awful lot like _Romeo and Juliet_. Dying for love…whether it's between a boy and a girl or just family type love. I think it's absolutely wonderful, don't you feel all tingly inside? I sure do." She sighed dreamily. "It's _so _romantic."

"You're still doing that?" Brock laughed. "Everything's romantic to you, isn't it?"

"Brock, my niece and nephew are alive. Don't you think that's something to get starry eyes over?" She pressed her forehead to the window again, smiling. "It's a miracle. They're just like all the other babies in there. It's a wonderful, beautiful, romantic miracle. I'll be as girly as I want and I'll hit you if you say anything different." Behind her back, Ash mouthed 'girly' and 'hit you' while holding in his giggles.

"Misty, that's kind of funny that you're looking in there, because I'm only over here because Daisy's breastfeeding the twins," Brock smirked. Unfortunately, his witty comment went ignored and Misty turned to them, a dreamy smile on her face. Brock sighed. "I got kicked out of the maternity ward. I wasn't going _look_, I just wanted to hear about how a woman breastfed. I was just curious, not perverted."

"_That's _your best excuse?" Ash snorted.

"They're the best babies in the whole world," Misty explained to her friends, drawing their attention off each other. "Both of them, Amy and Jon. Don't you dare say 'Ash and Jon', Ketchum, or I'll bop you into last week!"

"And why is that?" Brock grinned. "Because they have you as an aunt?"

They laughed. "There's that. That and…" She laughed again, looking down at the floor. After a moment, she looked back up and grinned. "They're still breathing guys. As…as long as they're breathing; they'll be okay. Somehow, I just know it will. Nothing really seems wrong as long as I can see them taking in those big, baby breaths. They came out, practically dead, and now they…they're more than empty shells. They look and think and when something scary happens they cry or breathe fast and…" She trailed off and sighed. "You just…you can't imagine how happy I am just to see them looking at me, feeling, breathing."

Ash nodded, completely serious. "Then we'll never let them stop. Let's swear, right now-"

"On two Unown graves," Misty whispered, sure to meet his eyes.

"On two unown graves," He agreed. "I swear, _we _swear, to keep these babies breathing now matter what, except when we're teaching them to swim, because I learned the hard way that you really shouldn't try to breathe underwater. It hurts." He thrust his hand forward, proud to be the one to start the promise.

Brock laughed and dropped his hand on top of Ash's. "You two are so serious! It really shoulder be enough that they're _alive _before you go around making promises of never letting them die. But, since you two are completely insane yet I somehow still like you, I swear."

And Misty, smiling, gently laid her hands on top of theirs. The three of them, best friends forever, a little too dramatic but ready for anything the world could throw at them: "I swear."

_And thus began their next adventure, one year later, in the quiet town of Cerulean…_

**(PAGE BREAK)**

**The beginning sucked, so it only seems fitting that the ending sucks, no? I'm so sorry it came out so icky. This whole story was light and amusing, not very dramatic and all. I wasn't exactly sure how all this would work out, this was just a test, but now that I've finally settled into writing fanfics (because MAN I've changed since I first started writing whatever I pleased on here) I think if I ever get around to the sequel, it'll be a bit better than this!**

Thanks to all who reviewed! I can't believe this pitiful excuse for writing actually turned out so well! I'm glad you all liked it, and I could never thank you all enough!

Lots of love,  
BSR


End file.
